Lady Lily
by magicXheart
Summary: Lily was a lady who had left that life behind. She ran away to escape her fiance, Malfoy and ended up being rescued by the Marauders. And somehow between the swordfights and confessions, she finds herself falling in love.
1. Lady Lily

Summary: Lily was the daughter of a Lord. She had everything she had ever wanted. Except for her freedom. She runs away to a criminal's town where she is saved by James Potter. AU.

Lady Lily

Disclaimer. I do not own Harry Potter. Sadly all I own is fifty bucks and a pile of books. I do own the majority of the plot of Lady Lily though. Just not the characters that you recongnize.

"Miss," A maid said quietly. She leaned over and slightly shook the sleeping form. "Miss." She repeated, slightly louder. Lily Evans rolled over, taking the blankets with her. "Miss Evans." The maid said. Lily regretfully sat up in bed and walked over to the window. The sun was just rising. She stared out wistfully.

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an adventurer Elena?" Lily questioned.

"No Miss." Elena responded quietly. She was picking clothes out a wardrobe for Lily to wear.

"Lily," Lily corrected her in a firm voice.

"As you wish Miss." Elena said meekly. She held up a dress and Lily motioned for her to put it back. Instead Lily picked out a long black dress. She held it up to model for Elena.

"I don't think that was quite what my Lord had in mind for this evenings gathering." Elena said. She held up the emerald dress again. This time Lily took it.

"Proper etiquette." Lily muttered. "I wish I was a commoner. Everything would be so much easier then." She took off her nightgown and turned around so the maid could tighten a corset. "I wouldn't have to wear this either." She raised her hands so that her dress could be slipped on. She walked over to her vanity mirror and began to run a brush through her silky auburn hair.

"Is that all Miss?" Elena asked.

"You may go." Lily said. She stared at her reflection as the maid walked out. Her emerald eyes gazed back at her. Lily never wanted this life. She had merely been born into it. A life of honor and money. Privileges and respect. A life of confinement. Everyone else would kill for it. Elena certainly. But for her it was like a tiger kept within a cage. She wasn't destined to spend her entire life curtsying and practicing proper etiquette. She was meant to be exploring. Finding new things. She set her brush down and sighed. She stood up and walked out the door.

"Miss Evans." A girl dressed in an aqua dress, curtsied to her. Lily racked her brain trying to think of her name.

"Miss Lestrange," Lily said, returning the curtsy. She walked on, looking for her friend in the crowds.

"Lily," A voice called to her. Lily looked to the source of it. Her mother and father were standing on a small platform, looking down up there. She walked over to join them. "Lily," Her father, Lord Evans, repeated. "Your mother and I think it is time for you to get married. Your sister has been married for three years already and she is quite happy."

'Oh yes,' Lily thought, 'Petunia was ecstatic to be married to Lord Dursley. She had an estate and people to command around. That was all she ever wanted.' Lily glanced at her mother, wondering what she thought of Lily's imminent marriage. Lady Evans was a slight figure. With raven black hair and porcelain skin, she looked like a doll and had the assertiveness of one too. She gave Lily a distressing look and nodded at what her father said. Lady Evans did not approve, but she would follow what ever her Lord said.

"Would you like to meet the Lord you are engaged to." Lord Evans said. It wasn't really a question. He grabbed Lily's hand and guided her to a man standing about five feet off. "Meet Lord Lucius Malfoy. Lord this is my daughter Lady Lily Evans."

"My lady." Lucius said, bowing. He grabbed her hand gently and pressed cold lips upon it.

"My Lord," Lily said, with a curtsy. "It is a pleasure to meet you." She looked Malfoy up and down. He was about 6' with long, blond, greasy hair. His outfit was entirely black and crisp. He smile was more a sneer then anything else. She knew that she would not marry him. "If you will excuse me?"

"Certainly my lady." Malfoy answered.

'I wasn't asking you.' Lily thought indignantly. She turned around and exited the room. Once she was out of sight she picked up the bottom of her dress and fled to her room. She sat down on her window seat and stared at the window. The sun had risen by now. She stared out at the commoners. The few she could see over the wall were doing various things. Some were drawing water from the well. Another was herding some sheep on a hill top. They all were under her family. Their taxes paid for her dress. Lily thought back to what had happened in the half hour that she had been awake. She wouldn't marry Lord Malfoy. Of that she was certain. He would force her to his will and she would become the perfect Lady in everyone else's eyes. Lily shook her head. She didn't want that anymore then she wanted the life she was living now. She decided what she was going to do.

Lily got up and walked over to a section of her floor next to her bed. Using her heel she stomped one a loose board and grabbed it when it came flying into the air. She set in down gently and stared at her private hoard. She had 1,000 pounds ($1,420), a pair of boots that she had stolen as a kid, and a dark cloak. She could make more money by selling whatever jewelry she could when she left. She had all she needed to survive as an adventurer. She would go discover new lands like she had always wanted. She would no longer be Lady Lily. She grabbed a bag and started to weep all her jewelry into it. On top of that she put her pounds. She closed the bags and took off her heels. She slid on her boots when she heard the door open.

Lily looked up startled. Walking through the door with her head down was Elena. Elena looked at Lily, sprawled on the floor, wearing boots. "Congratulations on your marriage Miss." She said.

"Thanks." Lily said sarcastically. She immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry. It's just that Lord Malfoy seems peculiar."

"If I may speak bluntly," Elena asked. Lily nodded her head, while standing up. "He is very rich. He will give you everything you want. While I am being blunt Miss. May I ask why you were sitting on the floor."

"Good question." Lily muttered. "I am not feeling well." She invented spur of the moment. "Please hold my heels and leave me alone to rest." She scooted sideways to cover the hole made by the missing floorboard.

"As you wish Miss," The maid said. She turned around, exiting the room. On her way out she put down the ribbons she had come to deliver.

Lily sighed as she left. She slipped the cloak on. Making sure that it hid her auburn hair. It was a feature no one else in the castle had, although it was all too common in the town. Many times she had heard people saying that her father was a commoner behind her back. She grabbed the bag and slung it over her shoulder. She opened a window and put one foot on it. She looked at her room one last time. She wasn't sorry to be leaving this place. She just hoped that she wouldn't be found. She put her other foot up and swung out the window. This was a path she had taken many times before. She was always running away to a less constricting place. She swung out the window, hitting the ground far below.

She ran to the stables and found her horse. She was a small bay. Lord Evans had offered to buy her a more expensive one but she liked Crimson. She looked like an animal that a commoner would own so Lily could ride unnoticed. A groom appeared at Lily's side. "Prepare my horse for a long ride." She ordered. The groom jumped to complete her order. Lily stood there for five minutes until she was ready. The groom helped her mount and Lily took off. She started on her usual trail, a lap around the manor, but as soon as she was out of sight she stopped and pulled up her cloak again so it hid her from recognition. She turned her horse and rode towards the bridge. She rode across the moat and started Crimson in a gallop. She rode out of the town and away from Lady Lily.

Lily rode for eleven hours. Stopping only to let the horse get drinks from various springs. Finally around five she found a town. It was only a quarter of the size her father resided over. It gave off a feeling of despair. Lily sighed and jumped off her horse. She walked through the town until she found a small store. She walked into it and was surprised by the darkness and dampness. She walked up to a guy who sitting on a chair. "I need to buy one outfit." She requested. She tried to make her voice sound more common.

"Sure honey." The guy drawled. He had to be at least forty and he had a noticeable beer belly. "How much you wanna spend?" He was staring at her and Lily instinctively drew her cloak tighter. She definitely wasn't Lady Lily anymore.

"I have-" Lily started She reached into her bag and her hand went straight through. She held it up and looked at the hole, feeling a weight drop in her stomach.

"You were robbed lady." He said. The way he pronounced lady it didn't sound like a title.

Lily almost cried. She had no money and no way to get more. "I'll trade you my outfit and this necklace for a new outfit and 70 pounds." She offered. The necklace was worth way more then that, and the dress but she didn't want to draw to much attention to her clothes.

"35 ponds. Final offer. And don't think of going anywhere else because that was the best deal you're going to get. Unless of course you throw in a little something extra." He winked suggestively.

"No way." Lily growled. "I'll take the 35. Is there a place where I can change?"

"No." The guy replied. Lily sighed and grabbed the outfit he held out. She walked to a corner of the room. She held her cloak up in front of her to hide her while she changed. She didn't really have a choice. She walked over to the guy and dropped the dress and the necklace. He gave her 35 pounds. "Nice doing business with you." He said.

"Yeah." Lily answered. She was hungry and broke. For the first time she might actually have to work. She turned around and strode out of the store. She looked around for Crimson. "Crimson, Crimson." She called. There wasn't an answer. She groaned, realizing her horse was gone. A day ago she had everything. A maid, money, and a future. Now all she could call her own was 35 pounds and a commoner's outfit. She didn't have any way to get home either. It was a stupid idea that just kept getting worse.

Lily sighed again and walked over to a wall. She sat down with her back against it and thought about her plans. She had only enough money for food until she could find a job, and the didn't seem likely. She had no way to go back and no idea what to do. Frankly she was screwed. "What's a pretty lady like you doing here all alone?" A guy sneered.

Lily looked up at the person who was talking to her. He was about 5'7'' with greasy black hair. He was surrounded by three other guys. "Where is the Lord of this town?" She demanded to know.

"We don't have one, baby. Not unless you are talking about the Dark Lord. He runs everything is this town. I'm Serveus Snape." He said.

"Lily Evans. Nice to meet you. Goodbye." She said. She stood up and prepared to walk in the opposite direction. This didn't seem like the right kind of guy to be around.

"Not so fast baby." The guy said grabbing my arm. "I wasn't done yet."

"But I was." Lily said, "Goodbye."

He didn't release her arm. "I had other plans for you." He pulled her closer to him. "What do you say we go back to my house."

"No!" Lily said trying to jerk away. He started pulling her with him.

"Let go of her." A new voice commanded. Lily looked towards the sound of her savior, hoping that he was actually decent.

Snape released her as one of the guys with him grabbed her. "And what are you going to do about it Potter?"

James didn't answer the question. He just punched Snape in the jaw. Snape fell to the ground. Two more guys showed up and dealt with the remaining three guys. The three of them turned to walk away. "Wait," Lily shouted.

James turned around. "What do you want?" He asked crossly.

"I wanted to say thanks. You saved me."

"Your welcome." James said. "Is that all?" He turned to walk away again.

"No." Lily called after him. He turned to face her again. "I have no where else to go. Can you help me?"

"No." Another boy with black hair answered. The three of them started walking away and Lily resorted to something she never thought she would do. Begging.

She ran around in front of them. "Please, you have to help me. Otherwise they'll just come back. I was robbed so I have none of my money left." She started crying, loudly.

"What do you say guys?" A boy with sandy hair asked. "Should we help her."

"Fine." The boy with black hair answered.

"James Potter."

"Sirius Black."

"Remus Lupin." The three introduced themselves.

"Come on." James said. "Let's go." He started walking off again, Lily following behind them.

**A/N**

**So what do you think. Love it, like it, or hate it. Tell me in a review please. Chapters will get longer. **

**Random question that I heard; would you save one sibling or five strangers?**


	2. Moving in

**Chapter two**

**This chapter is dedicated to Mah Potter who gave me my first review for the story.**

"Where are we going?" Lily demanded to know.

"Be quiet," James ordered. He didn't bother to turn around, instead he just kept walking.

Lily last for all of two minutes. "I demand to know where we are going." They had been traveling for a good half hour, staying in the alleys. They had taken so many twists and turns that Lily doubted she would be able to find her way back if she wanted to.

The three boys stopped and turned to glare at her. Sirius spoke, raising one eyebrow as he did so. "Oh, and what right do you have to demand anything from else?" Lily raised her hand, about to shout how they owed her proper respect. She was the daughter of a Lord and they should treat her so. Then she slumped, defeated. Her father was many leagues away and she doubted that they knew the Evans name. "Now do you want to continue or would you rather stay here?" Sirius questioned.

"Continue." Lily answered gruffly. Sirius took the lead away from James and started walking. Ten minutes later they stopped. Lily looked around. All she could see was another alleyway. In front of her were several piles of rubbish, nothing else. Remus walked over to one of the piles. He brushed it away revealing a piece of wood with a handle. Lily gaped as he drew it up to reveal a trap door leading deep underground. Remus jumped in and was closely followed by Sirius. Lily stood there staring at it.

"Well, you coming or not?" James asked.

"I don't like the dark." Lily admitted.

"Well you can stand here until it gets dark or you can go down a short tunnel." James said.

Lily stood there weighing her options. When James turned and about jumped in Lily gave in. "Fine, I'm coming." Lily said. She closed her eyes and jumped down the tunnel. To her surprise it went only about five feet down to a hard packed dirt floor. She landed on her butt, legs sprawled. James jumped down next to her, holding out a hand. She took it gratefully, it was the first semi-nice thing he had done since rescuing her. He hauled her up then dropped her hand like it was poison. From the corner of the tunnel he grabbed a torch that Lily hadn't seen previously.

"You coming?" James asked. He ran to catch up to the other two guys. Yet again there were a million twists and turns. Lily wondered who they were trying to hide from. Halfway there she suddenly stopped.

"James." She whispered. She then slipped into unconscious. **A/N She hasn't had any food for about 16 hours and she wasn't used to this amount of work. **

"Lady." James shouted as he heard the thunk. He turned around and saw Lily lying on the floor. He sighed and looked at Sirius.

"I think we'll have to carry her." Sirius stated the obvious. "Not me." He added quickly.

"Not me." Remus said.

James sighed and turned to look at Lily lying on the floor. He handed Remus his torch and leaned over to pick her up. He carried her in front of him, using only his arms. "Spoiled princess." He complained. He raised one hand to her forehead and sighed again. "I think she's sick from her adventure today." He told the other.

Remus walked over and copied the gesture. "Do we have any medicine?" He questioned.

Sirius stared into space, trying to remember. "I don't think so." He said slowly. "We'll have to send Wormtail out to get some. Does her highness have any money?"

James looked down at Lily's unconscious figure. "Maybe. I can't tell. We can ask when she wakes up." The conversation ended with that. The three boys walked along the tunnel, each occupied with their own thoughts on their new roommate.

"We're back, Wormtail." Remus shouted. They had finally reached the end of the tunnel. It opened up into two spacious rooms. One room contained four beds, while the other contained a fireplace, food and water, and a table with four chairs. The furnishings were all very common and cheap. The only thing spectacular in the rooms were four swords hung on each wall of the common room. One, Sirius's, had a black hilt with a serpent design made of jade. Remus's had a gray hilt inlayed with an aquamarine surrounded by colorless topaz. Peter's was shorter then the rest and had a pure green hilt. It contained a single ruby inside of it. James's sword was the one that would take anyone's breath away though. It was longer and slimmer then the rest. A dark crimson hilt was set with a large tiger's eye. It was frosted with small diamonds so it gleamed in the torch light.

"And we brought a lady with us." Sirius added.

Peter sprang up from his chair, guiltily cramming a piece of fruit in his mouth. "What's her name?" He forced out his full mouth.

"Actually I have no idea. I don't we ever asked her name." Remus pondered. "At any rate she passed out so we need to let her sleep on someone's bed."

"Not mine." Sirius and Peter chorused together. James and Remus repeated it a second later.

"Duel you for it." James offered.

"That's hardly fair." Remus said indignantly. "Flip a coin."

"Fine." James agreed. Sirius walked over to their meager pile of money, drawing out a single coin.

"Heads." James called as soon as it was in the air. Sirius grabbed it out of the air and flipped it onto his opposite hand.

"Tales mate." He told James. James grumbled and walked into the other room. He set Lily gently down onto his bed. It was a moth eaten thing, covered in a layer of dust. None of them was really good at the whole cleaning thing. He grabbed the edge of his blanket and tore a strip out of it, which he dipped in cold water. He set it on her forehead and joined the other three at the table.

"Where did you find her?" Peter asked curiously.

"Being harassed by Snape." Sirius answered off-handedly. "It just gave us another reason to beat his sorry ass. To bad we didn't have our swords on us." He said mournfully, staring at his blade hanging off the wall.

"We still need medicine." Remus reminded them.

"Let's wait a day. If she gets worse we'll buy her some. It's not like we can really afford to. We need to earn some money or stop taking in every stray we meet." Sirius told them.

"Especially not the spoiled princess type." James muttered. He raised his voice slightly, "We have any new orders from Dumbledore?"

"Nah." Peter answered. "He said to sit tight for at least a week and brush up on our swordplay. There's supposed to be some big raid going down in a couple days that he wants us to be rested for."

"Works for me." Sirius said. "I need some dinner. Anyone else."

"Sure." They all chimed in.

"Wormtail you can make it." James delegated. "Remus you want to look at Lily then get some rest. You've been up for 12 hours straight."

"Aye aye captain." Remus said with a mock salute. He walked over to where Lily was lying.

"Sirius fancy some fighting?" James asked with a grin.

"Always Prongs." Sirius said, flipping his weapon out of it's place. He hung the scabbard on and then turned to face James with the same grin.

Lily woke up to the sound of two swords clanging. For a minute she thought that she was back in the castle watching her father and a knight duel. She turned over and brought her pillow over her head. Instead of feeling silk, like she was accustomed to, she felt coarse wool. She screamed and sat straight up, not remembering where she was.

"What's the matter lady?" Remus rushed over to her, woken up by her scream. Slowly the events of the last, was it only a day, came back to her. 

"I'm sorry. It's nothing." She apologized. "Go back to sleep." Lily stood up and stumbled over to the table. She would have liked to have had a window but that was clearly out of the question. She watched Sirius and James dueling with interest. The two were better then anything she had seen before. There were even better then her father's champion. James feinted and Sirius didn't fall for it. He blocked the swing at his knees and brought James's sword up and around, swinging at James's unprotected head. James ducked and parried. The fight went on. Lily gasped several times when it looked like one of them was about to be struck, but always a sword came out of no where. She judged the fight, debating who was going to win. Sirius was good but James's skill would not be denied. Gradually he beat Sirius back to the wall and with one powerful stroke the sword left Sirius's hand and flew into the wall.

"You win." Sirius said with a laugh. He retrieved his sword and slid it into the scabbard. "I will beat you one of these days." He promised.

"In your dreams." James laughed. The two returned their swords to their rightful places and plopped down into chairs next to Lily. To her surprise they didn't seem the least bit exhausted as any other person would have been.

"So what is your name?" Sirius asked her. "Unless you would prefer to be called lady."

Lily giggled at that. They had no idea that that was actually what she was called all the time. "Lily Evans." She said. She hoped they would not recognize the name.

Sadly they did. "Isn't that the name of the royal family in the town in the east?" James inquired.

"Yeah." Lily racked her brain, trying to think of an explanation. One that would not make her Lady Lily again. "I was a bastard child. So I take my father's name when I am outside of the town. I was raised with the same privileges as his child."

"Apparently given the same name too." Sirius commented.

"Long story to the reason why." Lily said, hoping they wouldn't ask to hear it. "How do you know so much about my hometown anyway?"

"It's our business to know Lily." James answered mysteriously. He turned to face Peter who was stirring something in a pot over the fireplace. "Food ready yet."

Lily gave up trying to guess their job when she heard the word food. Peter used a wooden spoon to take a sip of it. "Yeah," he called.

"Loser sets the table." James said, smirking at Sirius. Sirius sighed and got up and grabbed four plates and cups.

"How is it that you never end up doing any chores around here?" Sirius asked him

"Because I never lose." James bragged.

"And you aren't cocky either." Lily mocked.

"Hey, it's true." James defended. "Speaking of that how long are you going to be here?"

"I don't know." Lily replied. "I really don't know where to go. I ran away from home and I refuse to go back. I was engaged to some creep." Lily shivered.

"Who?" Sirius asked with interest.

"Lucius Malfoy. You know anything about him?"

"Barely." James said. "But you were right not to want to marry him. From what I've heard he's not that good of a guy. Food." He announced suddenly as Peter set some in front of them. Lily immediately dug in.

"Wow leave some for other people in the world." Peter said, watching her eat in amazement.

"Like you're one to talk." Sirius said, poking him.

"Sorry," Lily said, looking up from her plate. "I just have eaten in a long time. That's probably why I passed out."

"So back to the subject of how you staying here." James said firmly.

"Can I stay here a while, at least until I get some money or a way to get to somewhere else?" Lily begged. She looked at Sirius's and James's face. They didn't look that convinced. Lily looked around at the dirty room. "I could do the cleaning and the cooking."

"What's wrong with my cooking?" Peter asked huffily.

"Nothing except you don't quite have down the use of spices and herbs." Lily said. She looked at them again. Sirius seemed slightly more moved to let her stay but James wasn't moving. "I could make you new clothes too." She offered, looking at their threadbare outfits. "And anything else you need done around here." She offered weakly.

"I think she should stay." Peter said eagerly.

"That's just because you want better food." Sirius pointed out. "Still she could be useful. Prongs?"

It looked like the final decision was up to him. Lily put on her best puppy dog face and hoped for the best. "I don't know." James said slowly. "You can stay for a little bit." Lily smiled and silently cheered. "But," He warned her. "If you become a nuisance you're out of here. You understand." Lily nodded solemnly.

"So does that mean I can stay?" She asked.

"Yes that means you can stay for now." James said, wearily. Lily jumped up and hugged Sirius, who happened to be closest to her. Before he could react she turned around and ran towards James. James stood up and backed up. "Don't even think about it." He said warily. Lily ignored it and hugged him anyway. She took a look at Peter and sat back down, still rejoicing.

"One question though." Lily said. "What exactly are your jobs and who is Dumbledore?"

"It's a long story." Sirius tried to shrug it off.

"We have time." Lily said patiently.

"Well it's a long story that you won't be hearing. At least not until we know you better." James replied. "Now are your going to clean up our dishes."

"Shouldn't you give Remus any food?" Lily asked.

"Nah. Let him sleep." Peter answered. Lily looked questionably at the rest of them. There was something strange about these people and one day soon she would find out what it was.


	3. Nightmares

Nightmares

"So where am I supposed to sleep?" Lily asked, turning to face James.

"Not mine." Sirius and Peter chorused.

"How do you always do that?" James asked the two guys.

"Skill." Sirius replied with a cheeky grin. "If I can't beat you in swordplay at least I can beat you in this."

James sighed. "Take my bed for tonight. Tomorrow I'll try to get you something. Okay?"

"Thanks." Lily said. "I think I'll go to sleep now." She stood up and walked over to the bed, before turning around to face them. "Do you have anything I can change into?"

"Are you ever happy?" James said. He stood up and walked over to a trunk in front of the bed. He rifled through it then threw something at Lily. She caught it and held it up. It was a plain white t-shirt. It was long enough that it went almost to her knees.

"Thanks." Lily said. She choose to ignore his previous comment. She slipped it on over her clothes and managed to change that way. "Night everybody." She called. Sirius nodded at her. The rest ignored her. Lily climbed under the covers and lay down. As the dust swirled around her she swore that would be the first thing she cleaned the next day.

"I don't believe her." Sirius commented five minutes later. James looked up from his sword. He set the sword and the polish down.

"What about?"

"That she was a bastard child. I think she really is The Lily Evans." Sirius said.

"Well what are we going to do about?" Peter asked. "It's not like we can just leave her on the streets. Snape would come back for her."

"I'll ask around. Maybe we can get someone to take her back. Till then we might as well let her be useful." James made the final decision.

"Whatever you say boss." Sirius said with a salute. James threw an apple at him, which Sirius caught and dropped back on the table.

"Night." James said pointedly.

"Night boss." Sirius repeated. He walked over to James's bed where Lily was sleeping. He gazed at her for a few minutes before pivoting on one heel and walking back towards his bed.

"Night." Peter mumbled. He was already half-asleep. James sighed. He put his sword in easy reach and slumped down in his chair. He sat there for thirty minutes thinking about what had happened before he fell into a light sleep.

_James was running through a dark alley. He was only five years old. He looked up at the person holding his hand. "What's happening Daddy?" He asked in a high pitched voice. "What is Uncle Riddle doing?" _

_  
"I'll explain it all later. Just keep running." _

_  
"OK daddy." They ran. Behind them dark figures were following. They were stabbing everyone in between them. All ready over two dozen people lay dead. James looked at his mother. His dad passed James's hand to her and then turned as they kept running. James heard shouting._

"_Riddle." His father acknowledged. _

"_Potter." The figure spit out. "It's Voldermort now." He raised his sword and James's father mimicked the movement. _

_  
"Why?" James's father asked. A clanging of swords followed. When it stopped the silence split the night. James turned fearfully. Uncle Riddle was standing over his father's body, sword through his stomach. _

"_Because I want power. I deserve power." Voldermort whispered. _

_  
James's mom stopped and James stopped with her. She was holding a sword that she had recently picked up. "Go," She said, giving him a push. "I'll be all right. I'll come back for you."_

_  
"You promise?" James asked childishly._

"_I promise, now go."_

"_Yes mommy." He kept running to their hide-out. As he turned the corner he heard a woman's shriek, pierce the air._

James sat straight up in his chair, feet falling to the floor with a loud clunk. With one hand he reached out to grab his sword, the other he used to wipe the sweat pouring off his face. He tossed his sword from hand to hand before catching it in his left. With his right hand he traced over an inscription. It was a ritual that had been duplicated again and again. He sighed and put the sword back in its scabbard. Grabbing it loosely he stood up and walked out of the room through the tunnel.

James appeared in a separate exit ten minutes later. He stepped out into the moonlight and kept walking. He ended in a small clearing surrounded by woods. He lay down and put his hands behind his head. Gradually he fell into sleep again.

_James stumbled when he heard his mother shriek. His mother had promised she would come back for him. She lied. James curled his fist as he hit the ground. Behind him he heard the mob growing closer._

James jumped up, sword out. He swung it instinctively in front of him. "Who sent you? What do you want?" He screamed, not yet fully awake.

"It's Lily." The figure said quietly. She was holding her arm where James had grazed it with his sword. "I couldn't sleep so when I saw you go out I followed. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. I'll leave you alone." She turned around and was walking away before James noticed her arm.

"Come here," He said, sitting back down. Lily complied and sat down next to him. He silently tore a strip of fabric from the bottom of the shirt he was wearing. He wrapped it around her cut then leaned back. "I'm sorry." He offered. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I just startle easily."

"It's nothing." Lily insisted. "Just a small nick. It's beautiful up here." She looked around at the woods. "I wouldn't think a thing like this existed around this town."

"My dad found it." James told her softly. "When I was four. Since then I always go up here when I can't sleep."

"Where's your dad now?" Lily asked.

James stood up abruptly. "I'm going back now." He said curtly. "Be back with in the hour." He started to walk away as Lily sat there. She was gazing at the stars. Lily shivered in the night air. James turned around and took off his coat, laying it across her shoulders. Lily didn't acknowledge it in any form. James sighed and walked back from the way he had come.

Lily looked at the constellations, wondering if her family was looking at the same ones. Petunia wouldn't. Neither would her father. But her mom had been the one to teach her the stars. She picked out the different ones and thought about the legends behind them. Andromeda was her favorite. Andromeda was the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, King and Queen of Ethiopia. When Cassiopeia boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than that of the Nerieds, sea nymphs, they asked Neptune to send the monster Cetus to ravage Ethiopia. Consulting an oracle, Cepheus found that the only way to appease Cetus was to sacrifice his daughter to the monster. Andromeda was chained to a rock by the sea to be sacrificed, but Perseus arrived from killing the Medusa, and turned Cetus into stone with the head of Medusa. It had also been her mother's favorite. Her mother had never wanted to marry Lord Evans. It had been an arranged marriage much like Lily's. Her mother didn't have the strength to say no to her parents. She had smiled meekly and done exactly what she had been told. Lily sighed and stood up, following in James's footsteps.

XXXX

Lily woke up the next day to find that the four boys had already left. She couldn't tell what time it was without the sun so she had no idea what time she had slept in to. She stood up and looked around. 'It was amazing the guys had managed to survive in such a place. If Elena had been here.'

Lily groaned when she realized the reality of her situation. Elena was not here and neither were any of Lily's other servants. It was up to her to clean this place. She walked over to James's trunk, figuring it would be okay to take more clothes from there. She ended up with a pair of brown chinos, rolled up several times, and a long black shirt. In the middle she wore a belt that somewhat held together the outfit. She turned around and started to clean.

XXXX

"We're back," Remus called from the entryway. He came in and dropped some stuff on the floor. It was joined by more sacks carried by James and Sirius. Peter, Sirius, and Remus sat down in the newly cleaned chairs. James alone choose to stand.

"It looks great," Sirius complimented her. It really did. Lily had gotten rid of all of the dust that had accumulated over the years. Everything had been wiped down, organized, polished, or anything else that needed to be done to it. Lily had been alone for five hours with nothing to do but clean, and let's just say that she got bored easily.

"You've been gone for five hours." Lily accused. "Where were you?"

"Out." James answered. Lily glared at him. "Did you make dinner?"

"You need to go shopping for more food." Lily continued, still cross. "But yeah I prepared dinner." She set down four plates filled with some form of stew. "You eating?" She asked James. He hadn't moved from his perch by the door.

"A lady shouldn't have to stand and eat." James said. Lily gaped at him. His attitude had kept flipping. Chivalrous to boorish in about thirty seconds flat.

"Thanks," She answered hesitantly. She looked at the cooking area and back at James. "There's not an extra bowl." She told him. He jerked his head towards the sacks. She walked over to them curious and found an extra set of any living thing that she might need. She grabbed the bowl it included and filled it.

"Don't be to grateful, we used your money." James told her. He took the bowl from her stunned hands. James shoveled the food as fast as he could. He set it down on the table and looked at the others. "You coming?" Remus and Peter quickly shoveled their food as well and stood up. "Sirius?"

"I think I'm going to stay here this time." Sirius said with a glance towards Lily. "You don't really need me, do you?"

"Nah, it's just some of the lesser Death Eaters tonight. Nothing Dumbledore assigned." James answered him. He too glanced at Lily before he left with the others.

Sirius stacked the bowls and set them down at the end of the table. He sat back down in the chair. "He's not such a bad guy."

"What?" Lily asked as she picked up the bowls to clean them.

"James. He isn't always like this." Sirius said, leaning back. "If you get to know him, you couldn't ask for a better friend. He just comes off cold some times."

"Sometimes." Lily muttered. Slightly louder she added, "I though he was nice enough when he rescued me, but since then….."

"He just hates getting close to anyone, especially since. Anyway just wait. If you can get past the exterior I'm sure you'll like him. If not you better find another place to live."

"Since what?" Lily asked curiously. She set down the now clean bowls and sat in the chair opposite him.

"I can't tell you." Sirius told her mysteriously.

"So why are you such good friends with him?" Lily asked.

"Now that I can tell you. I just won't. You have to tell me something about yourself first." Sirius bargained.

"What do you want to know?" Lily asked.

"Why you're pretending to be someone else Lady Lily." Sirius told her.

"How?" Lily gasped.

"Sir Sirius." Sirius said with a flourish. He stood up and did a courtly bow. "Now are you going to tell me or not?"

"I already told you. I didn't want to marry Lucius Malfoy." Lily insisted.

"It can't be just that. There has to be another reason." Sirius pressed.

"I'll tell you if you tell me both why you ran away and why you are such good friends with street urchins." Lily bargained.

"Fine." Sirius agreed.

"I hated living there." Lily started. "I couldn't take living with everything being handed to me. I've always wanted to be an adventurer. To be able to sit down and realize that I earned everything that I ate. That it wasn't handed to me by some guy. I could've turned down Lucius but there always would have been some guy. I didn't want that life. I wanted this one."

"You wanted to live with four dirty guys in a dirt-walled two room place." Sirius said.

"Not this place exactly." Lily amended with a laugh. "But at least it's better then the palace. Besides you obviously ran away too. How did you know me anyway?"

"That's three questions Lady Lily. I believe you were only allotted two." Sirius replied.

"Okay, how did you know me and why did you run away?" Lily figured she could get the third answer from Remus or Peter. These two questions it would be better to get from Sirius himself.

"Well I knew you because I was once supposed to be engaged to you." Sirius said, much to her shock. "When you were three and I was five. But then it was decided that you didn't have enough money."

"Wait," Lily interrupted. "Exactly how much money did you have?"

"I'm the son of Prince Black." Lily was in shock. She stood up to bow before Sirius waved her back down with a laugh. "I was disowned so you don't need to call me your Highness or anything like that. Actually I ran away. I didn't believe like they did. Anyone who wasn't royalty was to be disowned. I was always friends with 'street urchins' as so kindly put it. When my parents ordered me not to be friends with them anymore I lost it. I grabbed some things and ran away. Haven't seen them since. That answers your questions, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." Lily answered. "Do me one favor."

"What?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"Don't tell them who I am. I don't want to be Lady anymore." Lily begged.

"On one condition." Sirius said. "You have to give James a chance. Don't assume he's callous."

"Whatever you say Prince." Lily mocked. "Just tell me why you're so loyal to him. After all you could command him if you wanted to. You could command me for that matter."

"That's a different story for a different time. But just know that I would die for him." Sirius said out loud. He walked over and grabbed his sword. "I'll be back in an hour. If the others get back before me tell them I left to go see Frank." He turned and left, leaving Lily alone with more questions then answers.

XXXXX

"Where's Sirius?" James asked. He walked over to his bed and sat down.

"Something about Frank." Lily answered. She was glad to have someone to talk to finally. Sirius had been gone for half an hour leaving Lily with nothing to do.

"Oh." Came James's reply.

"Why are you back so early?" Lily questioned.

"Finished what I was doing. Remus went to go see his girl and Peter went somewhere. Didn't catch where."

"What were you doing?" Lily asked. She was going to find out one day. James choose not to answer her. Instead he put up his sword and lay down on his bed, exhausted. Lily gave up and was quiet for a couple minutes. Finally she spoke up again. "James,"

"Yeah." James didn't turn to look at her. He just lay there.

"Do you have a girl?"

"No," He propped himself on one elbow. "Why?"

"Just wondering." Lily told him. She didn't know why she asked. "Do you have any parchment and quills?"

"Yeah. Over there. Is that all?" Lily nodded. James fell back into the bed. Lily walked over and grabbed the items. She glanced at James and began to sketch.


	4. Swordfight

Swordfight

Lily looked at James then turned her focus back to the parchment in front of her. She sat there for hours, sketching the scene in front of her. She was drawn into a somber spell. She didn't look at the world around her.

"Lily," Sirius cam bursting through the door. Lily looked up shocked, not realizing that the rest of the world existed. She rubbed her eyes, dropping the parchment in the process. She turned to face the trio coming through the door.

"Hey," She raised one hand in greeting. "I thought the three of you were at different place?"

"Ran into each other in the corridor." Sirius explained, dropping his sword. The other two had never had theirs. Remus walked over to a trunk at the foot of his bed and pulled out a pair of slacks. Peter mimicked the gesture. Lily realized what they were planning on doing and turned away, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. Sirius snorted and sat down at one of the chairs. Lily, still embarrassed, stood up and walked over to what passed as a stove.

"You want anything?" She directed the question at Sirius, since she could hear the other two snoring.

"No thanks." Sirius answered, with a wave of his hand. "I'm going to fall asleep."

"Why are you at the table then?" Lily asked stupidly.

"So you can have the bed." Sirius answered her. Lily blushed again. That was one of her problems with being a redhead; she was always blushing. Sirius laughed again at her mortification. "I'm going to get you a bed this week." He told her. "Some guy is willing to get me a good deal. I don't mind really. Besides do you want to sleep in a chair?"

"I can sleep on the floor." Lily offered. She hoped that he would decline from her offer like a gentlemen.

"Rats." Sirius looked her in the eye, expecting her to shriek or have some other girly reaction.

He was sorely disappointed. "I don't mind rats." She answered with a forced grin.

"Take the bed." Sirius looked grim so Lily stopped protesting. On the way over there she turned back to him.

"When are you leaving next?" She asked. She didn't want to wake up to another empty room.

"In four hours." Sirius answered groggily. He was dead asleep in the next instant. Lily sighed and figured she would have to find something else to do in the morning. She walked over to James's trunk, she figured since Sirius had given up his bed she should take James's clothes, and grabbed an extra long shirt. It went past her knees. Pulling that on she changed into a pair of pants and rolled them up until they fit moderately while. Sighing once again she climbed into Sirius's bed.

XXXX

James woke up later that night in a cold sweat; just like the night before. He grimaced as he felt it run down his face. He sat up and shook his head, trying to forget that image. Turning slightly he got out of bed, his foot making a creaky sound. Glancing down he grabbed the piece of parchment that Lily had dropped the night before.

"What's that?" James almost dropped the parchment in shock. He looked up to see Sirius repressing a snicker and failing immensely.

"How long have you been up?"

"Ten minutes or so. I would have woken you but you looked so peaceful. Like an angel." James threw the nearest thing he could find at Sirius. Unfortunately it turned out to be a boot that James had taken off the night away. Sirius fended it off with one hand and looked back at James, still chuckling at James's reaction. "Okay so I woke up thirty seconds ago and didn't have the energy to get up yet. Sleeping at a 90 degree angle. Yeah, not that good for my back. She sleeps in your bed tonight."

"No problem." James answered. Sirius looked shocked. "I'm going to be out tonight anyway."

"Where?"

"No where in particular. You making breakfast?" James successfully changed the subject.

"Make Lily do it." Sirius said lazily.

"She's sleeping."

"So?" Sirius gave him an oblivious look.

"Sooo, I won't wake her up." James answered, giving him the evil eye. Sirius sighed and picked up the boot that had been thrown at him a moment again. He aimed it at Peter's head.

"What as that for?" Peter wined, sitting up. In the process of rubbing his head he rolled out of bed causing James and Sirius to break into hysterics.

"Shut up," Remus commanded. "Did you really feel the need to wake me up too."

"Yes." James answered before turning back to Peter. "You're on kitchen duty." He told him. Peter started to complain until James gave him the look.

"What happened to Lily?" Remus asked sitting up.

"Sleeping. And Jamsie doesn't want to wake her up." Sirius cooed. James growled and grabbed his sword. Sirius put both hands up and snickered slightly. "Chill."

"Never call me Jamsie." James said through his teeth.

"And here I thought you were just defending my honor." Lily said, joining in the laughing.

"Lily!" Remus cried with evident relief. "I thought we were going to have to suffer through Wormtail's cooking again."

"I told them to let you sleep." James said, clearly annoyed.

"You woke me up." Lily answered. She walked over to the fire and started making them breakfast. James sighed and sat back down on his bed, giving up.

"What's that?" Sirius asked. He pointed to the parchment that he had caused James to drop earlier. James leaned over and picked it up, turning it over in his hand. After a quick look he stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans. "What was it?" Sirius pressed.

"Nothing." James shrugged.

"Uh huh," Sirius nodded then leaned back in his chair. A second later he came flying across the room towards James. The two of them were on the ground and wrestling. Finally Sirius stood up with the parchment in one hand. He tossed it to Remus and continued to hold off James. Remus stared at it a second and tossed it to Peter.

"Self-portrait?" Remus mocked. James turned bright red and stopped fighting Sirius.

"This is actually pretty good." Peter commented before throwing it back at Sirius. "You look almost like a normal teenage boy." James growled at him and Peter scooted back in his chair.

"Thanks." Lily spoke up.

"What?" Sirius turned to face Lily, while holding the parchment. He waved it in front of him. "You did this?"

"Yeah. Who else?" Lily pointed out.

"When did you do that?" James demanded to know.

"While you were sleeping."

"Violation of privacy." James muttered. He jumped up and grabbed the parchment out of Sirius's hands and stuffed it in his back pocket.

"Sorry." Lily grinned as she watched the scene. She stirred what she cooking and set it down on the table. "Breakfast." She announced. They three boys grabbed some spoons as Lily went over to lie back on the bed. "You eating?" She asked James. He was still standing in the same spot where Sirius had tackled him.

"Yeah." James shook his head back and forth as if to clear it of something. He walked over and joined the other guys. Lily frowned and then slipped into unconscious.

She woke up five hours later, finally with enough hours to function. She couldn't figure out how the others did it. Lily swung her legs over the side of the bed and looked around at the room. There was no new messes that couldn't be left for another day and no one was around. Sketching was out, after this morning she would have to wait a while before she attempted something else. If she had been at the manor she would have curled up in front of the fire with one of their hundreds of books, but here…well…that just wasn't a viable action. She pulled herself up and headed towards one of the chairs. Halfway there she stepped on Sirius's sword. Leaning down she picked it up by the handle and tossed it from hand to hand. She swung it in the air and pretended to thrust an enemy threw the stomach.

"You look good." James commented from the cornet. Lily jumped and dropped the sword on the ground. Glancing at him she saw that he was repressing silent laughter.

"I didn't notice you come in." She accused. She picked up the sword and set it on the table. "Are you hungry?" James shook his head so Lily tried again. "Where are the others?"

"Out."

"Specific." Lily stared at him for a few moments and no one spoke.

"You want to learn how to fight?" James finally said. Lily stared at him in shock.

"What?" She asked stupidly.

James drew his own sword and waved it around in front of him. "Fight: to use a sword with intended harm."

"I knew that." Lily pouted.

"Well do you want to learn or not?" James gave her an annoyed expression. Lily shrugged. "Yes or not? It might come in useful."

"Useful in what?" Lily asked. "All I ever do is sit around the, this-" She gestured to the place around her.

"Then now you'll have something to do when you sit around this place." James said. He crossed over to his bed and sat down. "And you'll need it in case anyone ever finds out where our hide-out is." He pointed out. "Unless, of course, you are planning to leave within the next decade."

"Fine." Lily submitted. "Thank you." She added as an afterthought.

"No problem." He stood up and walked over to the entryway.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked, standing up. She couldn't take another day of boredom. If she was left alone she might be cutting her hair or walking like a boy next.

"To get you a sword. You didn't think that I would let you practice with Sirius's did you?" James laughed once and continued walking.

"Can I come?"

"Not like that." James looked her over once and turned back around.

"What's wrong with the way I look?" Lily demanded to know.

"You look like a girl."

"I am a girl." Lily pointed out.

"Exactly." James paused and stared at her a second longer. "If you cut your hair though…?"

"Absolutely not."

"Then I'll be back in an hour." He turned around and started to walked again.

"What I wore a hat?" Lily suggested.

"No." James said firmly. "No one has worn a hat in years. At least not around here. I don't want Snape to be getting any ideas if he is around."

"Fine." Lily sighed, "Anything else?"

"Yes." James looked underneath her face for a second then picked up a rag off the floor and threw it to her. Lily pointed out the door so James walked out and returned a few minutes later. He pulled a knife out of his pocket. "Would you like to do it or do you prefer me?"

"You." Lily said with a defeated sigh.

"You must really be bored." James commented walking over to her. She sat down in a chair and James started to hack away at her hair.

"Shoulder length." She requested.

"Has to be shorter." James told her.

"Sirius has his hair that length." Lily complained.

"Black hair." He pointed out. "Yours is going to have to be a lot shorter then that." He continued to hack away at her hair. Lily almost cried watching it fall to the floor. Finally ten minutes later the torture was done. Lily walked over to the bucket of water and took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She leaned over and opened them….

"What did you do to my hair?"

"You like it?" James asked laughing, "I think I did a pretty good job."

"Its shorter then yours!"

"So? You now look like a guy, kind of."

"Lets go." Lily said. She didn't want to prolong the affect of looking at her hair.

"Wait." James called. He threw her a pair of boots and took out some knives. Lily put on the boots and stood up. "Right boot." James said, handing her one knife. She leaned over and slipped it down. "Front pocket, back pocket, and down the front of your shirt." James said, handing her the rest.

"Why are all these necessary?" Lily asked. She held them in one hand.

"You remember Snape?" Lily nodded. "He is the least of our worries." Lily sighed and placed the knives where he told her.

"Ready yet?" Lily asked. James looked at her for one more second and shook his head. He walked over to the fire and grabbed some ash. He was halfway back before Lily realized his intent. She started to back up. "No way."

"Then you can't go. You look to clean and pale." James sat down on the table and stared at her. Lily sighed again, hating that he was always right, she walked over to him and stood there patiently. He grabbed one of her arms and started rubbing the ash on it. He repeated the process with her face and other arm. "Finally? Lily asked in an irritated tone.

James looked her over and nodded. "You need a name."

"Ayden." She requested. He nodded again and stepped out the door, Lily was close behind.

**A/N**

I'm leaving town so I won't be able to write for at least a week. So I'll update this story in three weeks, maybe? Anyway thanks to those who reviewed last time. You guys are awesome.


	5. Secrets

**Secrets**

Lily took a deep breath of the fresh air. James looked at the bliss on her face. "You like the outside?" He asked with a chuckle.

"I've been in that hole for to long," Lily shot back.

James nodded, then took a more serious look at her. "You still look to much like a girl, _Ayden_."

Lily looked down, and then back at him. "I thought the hair pretty much did it," She commented.

James shook his head. "You look more like a princess then a rat. Slouch your shoulders more," He instructed. Lily's shoulders gave about ¼ inch. "More," James said. When Lily was finally slouched appropriately James nodded. "Now stop walking like that."

"Like what!?" Lily objected.

"Like a book would balance on your head." James scoffed. "Take longer steps, or something."

Lily took a couple of ridiculous steps before settling into a walk similar to his. "Better?" She asked with through a gritted smile.

"Perfect," James replied cockily. He sauntered forward and stopped in front of a store that look exactly like all of the others. "We're here," He announced. Lily glanced at the store and refrained from commenting. She dutifully followed him towards one of the walls. "Put your arm out," He ordered.

Lily shrugged and held out her right arm. James handed her a sword and released her arm. Lily almost caved under the weight. James took the sword a second before it hit the floor. "Try this one." He grinned. Lily grabbed the sword that was offered and swung it around. 

"Much better," She grinned and attempted to flip the sword around. Failing that, she brought it up so she could look at the blade. "Its blunt," She pouted.

"Practice sword," James answered, "You have to earn a --for lack of a better word-- real sword."

"How?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"Get a point against me in a duel," James smirked wickedly. Instead of sighing, Lily looked eager. James shook his head. He walked over to a table and pointed at the selection. "Pick six, two long, four short." Lily walked over to see what he meant. Laying on the table were about 30 different knives of various lengths similar to the ones she was carrying.

"At least these are sharp," She muttered. Lily tested a few of them before finally deciding. "Anything else?"

"Nope, that should do it." James replied. He grabbed the weapons from her hands and paid for them. Exiting the shop, he tucked the knives into various places and hooked the sword next to his. "Clothes," He announced suddenly.

"What?"

"Clothes, you need some," James clarified. "Borrowing ours just won't cut it anymore."

Lily laughed and glanced down at the outfit she was wearing; James's pants and Sirius's shirt. "You have a point," She admitted. She lifted her head and looked around at the other stores. "Which one?" James pointed and Lily took off in a direction. She was halfway through the door before she realized that James wasn't following her. She paused, turned, and saw James crouched with one hand on his sword and the other hold a long, wicked looking knife. "What's the matter?" She asked, jogging back towards him. James held up the hand with the knife. He began to walk towards an alley. Lily followed dutifully. "What?" She asked again.

"Malfoy," James muttered. He looked at Lily's face for a second, "Go back to the room and tell Sirius to come here."

"Why?" When James didn't answer Lily tried again. "Can't I stay?"

"Go," James repeated frustrated. Lily snarled, then stomped off in the direction that they came from.

Five minutes later she stumbled through the entryway and collapsed on a chair. Two pars of eyes stared at her before taking action. Lily found herself thrown against a wall with a dagger at her throat. "What!?" She screamed.

"Who are you?" Remus answered calmly, bloodlust in his eyes.

"Lily," She answered, exasperated. She raised the arm that wasn't pinned against the wall and ran it through her hair. "I'll take it James had a little to much fun with my hair." Remus dropped his hold on her shoulder.

"Lily?" Peter asked. Lily nodded.

Remus squinted and tilted his head. "It really is you," He said half-amazed.

Lily rubbed her shoulder and glared at him. "Oh, yeah, James wanted Sirius to come help him in a fight."

"Sirius is gone," Peter stated the obvious.

"I'll go," Remus sighed. He slipped his dagger into a sheath on his ankle. He grabbed his sword and ran out the door. Peter sat back down in his chair and stared at the plate in front of him.

"You want some food?" Lily asked, walking over to the area that passed as the kitchen. Peter nodded and Lily opened a pot. "We're out of flour."

"I guess I'm going too," Peter said. He grabbed his sword and was half-way out the door before Lily stopped him.

"What is with you guys and weapons? I mean you're only going out for flour." Lily asked.

"Ask James," Peter finally answered after several seconds of uncomfortable silence. He walked out the door and started down the tunnel. Lily collapsed on a chair. She picked up the sketchbook she had abandoned earlier and idly began to draw one of James's daggers. Twenty minutes later she put down the sketch and stared at it. Picking up her pencil she moved to make a few minor adjustments. She lowered her pencil to the paper--and then immediately jerked it back up again when Remus came through the door supporting James on his shoulder. Peter was trying, and failing, to support James's other side.

Lily vacated her chair and motioned for James to be set down in it. Well running over to the fire to boil water she screamed over her shoulder, "What happened?"

Remus dropped heavily into another chair. "When I got there, six of the Death Eaters were on the ground injured, but ten more had him surrounded. I scared them off, hurting two in the process and found James like this." Remus paused and considered the situation, "Why are you so hysterical?" He finally asked.

Lily grabbed some rags and threw them into the pot. "What do you mean, 'Why am I so hysterical?" The two of you are cut up and James can't even move by himself." Grabbing the rags she turned back to him. "Where is he slashed." Remus gestured at his entire body. Lily took her eyes off James to deliver a piercing glare towards Remus. "Can you be a little bit more specific?" She asked dryly.

"His worst cut is on his stomach," Remus offered. Lily nodded and turned back to James. She lifted off the tatters of his shirt and began to wipe the cut. Remus sat down in the other chair and began to wash some of the blood off his face. Ten minutes later Remus dragged James, complete with mummy-like bandages, to his bed. A minute later he collapsed onto his own bed, dead asleep in seconds. Lily began to wipe off the blood off the table.

"I can do that," Peter offered.

Lily shook her head. "Why don't you go find Sirius. I would feel better if he had some back up."

"He can take care of himself," Peter muttered.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," Peter replied. He pivoted on his foot and marched out the door. Lily shook her head and went back to wiping the table and floor. When she was finally satisfied, she boiled water and soaked some new bandages. Afterwards she began to cook some light broth for James and Remus to eat after they woke up. Content she had done everything she possibly could, she sat down and looked at the parchment that she had discarded when she James and Remus had hobbled in. She scowled and set it back down.

"Did I ruin your sketch?" Lily heard someone ask. She jerked up and fell off the chair with a loud thud. James laughed for a split second then grabbed his rib. "Ha!" Lily scoffed, "You should better then to laugh at me."

"You're right," James answered, "my mistake. I'll never do it again." Lily nodded her head as if she had expected no less. He stood up and began to limp towards her before dropping heavily on the bed. Lily rushed over and stooped to help him stand up. She set him down gently at the table and reclaimed the chair that she had fallen out of.

"You want some broth?" Lily offered to fill the silence.

James shook his head and gestured to the far corner of the room. "Your weapons."

Lily looked at the area where he was pointing. "Thanks," She answered overwhelmed. "I thought that you would have forgotten them with….with," She failed to come up with a reply and just looked at him.

"This? I've been through far worse," James said with a laugh that once again ended with him grabbing his rib. "You would have thought I would have learned by now," He said between gasps. He dropped his hand onto the table and Lily gaped. James follow her gaze. "Well maybe not much worse lately," He admitted, looking at the blood coating his palm.

Lily stood up and grabbed some fresh bandages. "Why are you up so early anyway? I thought you would be in bed for hours."

James pressed his palm back against the gash and look glanced up at her. "I don't normally sleep well with cuts all over me." He said dryly.

Lily mentally hit herself on her head. "Move your hand," She directed to get rid of the silence. She unwrapped the last bandage and dabbed the blood away.

"Thanks," James said awkwardly.

Lily shook her head stared him in the eyes from her position on the floor. "It's the least I could do. Why did you let this happen to you."

"Let?" James said. "I didn't exactly let them do anything. I was outnumbered by at least ten."

Lily shook her head again and reached a hand up and began to wash off some of the blood she had missed on his face. "What I meant was how did you end up like this. Why are you fighting them?" She stopped moving the rag and just stared at him.

_James curled into a ball as the mob drew nearer. He thought of his mom and curled even tighter. He could hear **HIM **approaching. He was fearful of the sword he knew what was to come. He had been his uncle. What had happened. _

_  
_James shook his head, trying to get rid of the memory. Lily brushed back his hair. "I was…"

"James!" Sirius rushed in and flung himself next to Lily. Lily withdrew her hand hurriedly from James's face and sat back on her heels. "I'm so sorry. Peter just found me. Who was it? Are you okay?"

James held up his hand. "I'm fine. Remus got there in time. Anyway it was Malfoy but I want you to wait until I'm healed. He had at least ten-fifteen guys with him. I know he didn't raise an army by himself."

Sirius nodded his head. "I'm so sorry." He repeated. James nodded and held out his hand. Sirius slightly threaded his handed through it before going to look at Remus's sleeping figure. Peter leaned on the doorway and stared at them. Lily stood up and walked away from James.

The evening progressed as normal. Lily fed the three awake broth and fruit, not bothering to wake Remus. After dinner they talked, planned for over an hour before Sirius helped James back to his bed. Peter fell asleep at the same time. Sirius came back over and sat by Lily.

"Is he going to be okay?" Sirius asked softly. Lily nodded her head.

"He'll heal in a couple days well enough to go out. Why? James said he was hurt this badly a lot."

Sirius shook his head. "He hasn't been hurt this badly for years. One of us is normally with him. I didn't know he wasn't going out."

"But the rest of you had gone out alone."

"We're not wanted like James is." Sirius replied ominously.

"Why is James being tracked?" Lily asked a few minutes later. But Sirius had already fallen asleep. Lily sighed and went over to his bed. 'I should really be the one to sleep in the chair one of these days.' On her way over she stopped to look at first Remus and then James. James was curled up in the fetus position with his hand on his nightstand. Lily looked at what his hand was on and then smiled. It was touching both of the sketches she had made since she had been here.

**A/N**

I'm sorry this chapter came so late. I would like to blame school but the truth was I was just being lazy. So anyway I hope everyone had happy holidays and thank you for reading after so long without an update. I swear the next one will be up sooner.


	6. Training

**Training**

Lily moaned and rolled over. She opened her eyes a crack and saw James lying on his bed. "Good morning," He said pleasantly. Lily gasped and sat up. She put one hand up to her hair and looked around the room. "Where is everyone?"

"Gone," James answered. Lily flashed a sarcastic grin. "They were left ten minutes after I woke up an hour ago without telling me where," he quickly defended.

"Oh," Lily flushed. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You looked exhausted last night," James answered.

"I was less tired than you," Lily pointed out."

"I'm used to this," James answered, "I didn't think you would be quite used to this pattern since it's such a drastic change."

"Thanks," Lily couldn't decide to take whether to take it as a compliment or an insult. She decided to leave it at that and sat up.

"Nice hair," James snorted. Now _that _was an insult. Lily put one hand up to her hair and walked over to the mirror. She smoothed down the area of her hair that James was referring to and turned to face him.

"At least my hair is more manageable than yours," Lily shot back. James smiled and held up his hands. He grimaced slightly, trying to hide it, and quickly returned his hands to their previous position. Lily ran over to the side of his bed, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," James reassured. He pushed himself up to a lying position. "Look over there," he told her, pointing towards a sack against the wall. Lily walked over and opened it. "My weapons!"

"Sirius went back for them this morning. I had left them with a friend for safekeeping before Malfoy could get near me," James explained. He pointed at the sack next to it. "That contains some clothes. I asked him to pick them up as well."

Lily smiled and started pulling out some assorted clothes. They were all trousers and loose shirts. "What no skirts?"

"Where would you wear them?" James asked incredulously.

Lily stared off into space. "I could still wear them around here," she finally answered.

James sighed. "Fine, I'll get some for you."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Lucius Malfoy?"

"Yeah," James answered. "So?"

"Lord Lucuis Malfoy?"

"I don't know," James was scared now. "Why does it matter?"

"Long blond hair? Evil looking? Slim?"

James thought for a second, "Yeah."

"I was engaged to him!" Lily shrieked.

"What!?" James rolled off the bed. "Aagh!" He came up screaming.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked concerned.

He shook his head. "I'm fine. Now what?"

"I was engaged to him, that's why I ran away. He can't see me! At all! I don't want to go back there." Lily insisted.

"Relax," James calmed her. "Now you said _Lord _Malfoy, right?"

"Right," Lily agreed.

"If you were engaged to a Lord, doesn't that make you a Lady?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Now let me change your bandages," Lily attempted to change the subject. She grabbed a couple of the bandages that Remus had cleaned for James before he left.

James held up his hands again and scooted a few inches backwards. "I'm fine. Sirius changed them before he left and Peter changed them about five minutes after that." He held up the bandage on his arm for proof. "See, perfectly clean. Now try on the daggers." Lily looked at the pile in hopelessness. "Wrist sheaths," James said, pointing towards two of the smaller blades. Lily strapped them on. "Kind of conspicuous," James commented. Lily tried to draw one but it was lost in her sleeve. "Change first," James laughed. Lily looked pointedly around at the small rooms. James turned to one side and Lily swapped out her clothing.

"You can turn around now," Lily called. James turned his head and looked on approvingly. "Sirius has a good eye," Lily commented.

"Yeah," James replied, kind of lost. Girls and clothes. "Now try on the sheaths." Lily did so with much less confusion. She drew the knife and waved it around. James chuckled as Lily glared at him. "Try on the rest of them," James chocked out through his laughter. "Calf," "Back," "Side," "Stomach," James gave various instructions as she held up the blades. "Now can you draw them all?"

"No," Lily admitted. "Do you always have this many different weapons on your person?"

"More," James admitted. "Blades aren't all we carry."

Lily sighed and reached for the knife, or small sword, on her back. "Ow," she exclaimed.

"What?" James worried.

"Cut myself," Lily admitted.

"Now aren't you glad that your sword is blunt?" James teased. Lily laughed and dropped the blade. "Walk over there and draw a small circle," James pointed at one of the dirt walls. Lily complied and stepped back to where she had been before. "Now throw the wrist dagger at it." Lily attempted to comply but the blade only made it halfway there. The knife hit the ground hilt first. "Good natural form," James complimented after allowing himself a brief chuckle. "Give me the knife." Lily yielded it to him. He demonstrated how to throw it with a flick of his wrist. Of course it landed dead center. "Got it?"

"No, but I'll try anyway." James smirked and handed the knife back. Lily attempted it a few more times, even making it hit the wall once. It was still far away from the circle though.

"Keep practicing," James encouraged. Lily sighed and grabbed the knife out of the wall.

"Let me try breakfast first," She pleaded.

James grinned. "Breakfast actually does sound good," he admitted.

"What, they didn't offer you breakfast when they changed your bandages?" Lily teased, glad to be back in her area. She looked over the food choices and threw some of it on the fire.

"They did," James said, "but Sirius had made it. There was no way it was edible."

"I'll make you breakfast if you let me change your bandages." Lily offered. "You have some blood staining through. I think it happened when you fell off the bed."

"Fine," James grudgingly agreed. He stood up and hobbled over to the table.

"Don't get up," Lily tried to protest.

"I'm not an invalid," James snapped. His face twisted into an angry grimace for a second before he replaced it with a fake-looking smile. "I'm sorry. I've just been babied to much." He offered weakly. Lily nodded silently and turned back to the food. They sat and ate in uncomfortable silence. "So if you're a lady," James broke the silence, "why do you know how to cook?"

"I never said I was a lady," Lily countered.

"But you were engaged to a lord," James pointed out.

"He could have been madly in love with me," Lily replied with a faint sound of shock.

"Malfoy? In love? Somehow I doubt that," James answered.

"Not that I was a noble, but I always loved to cook," Lily explained. "My mom humored me and allowed me to make most of our informal meals." James wisely didn't choose to push the noble point. She put down her plate and grabbed the bandages. "Now let me change them," she commanded.

James stuffed the last bite in his mouth and put his plate on top of hers. "Fine," he mumbled. He pulled up his shirt and began to unravel the bandage on it. He dropped it on the floor and stood up. After a few seconds he look at Lily expectantly. She flinched and began to wrap the bandage as tightly as she could. "Ow!" James protested after she yanked it. "I do need to use those ribs later."

"Oh, sorry," Lily apologized. She quickly loosened the bandage slightly and rested her hands on it. "James?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you take me in on that first day?"

"I don't know," James finally answered. He looked down at her. "I guess I felt sorry for you. You looked like you had never begged before in your life. And the expression on your face…I don't know." He stopped and Lily waited patiently for an answer. "It just made me want to protect you." Lily sighed and looked up at him. There stood there, just staring at each other for a few moments. 

"Umm. Am I interrupting something?" Sirius asked, walking into the room.

"No!" They both replied in unison. Lily jumped back, blushing, taking her hands off of James's stomach. He held out his hand and she began to redo the bandage on it.

Sirius held up one of the sacks in his hand. "I brought more food," he offered.

"Great," Lily replied. She tied off the bandage and stepped back.

"So since when have you started carrying weapons?" Sirius asked serenely. Lily glanced down at her outfit, not seeing where one was visible. "You're walking differently," Sirius explained.

"About twenty minutes ago," Lily answered. 

Sirius looked at the circle on the wall. "Oh," he laughed.

Lily scowled and looked at the bags he had carried in. "Do you want me to make some breakfast for you?" She asked grudgingly.

Sirius collapsed onto one of the chairs. "Nah, I'm good. I ate before I left. I offered James some of it." James snorted at that. "But he said he would rather eat yours."

"No, I didn't!" James interjected. Sirius just looked at him. "Okay, I did. But only because hers is actually edible," James defended. Lily laughed and Sirius joined her.

"I cook better than Peter," Sirius countered.

"Then why was Peter the only one cooking before I arrived?" Lily wondered.

"I was way to lazy to cook," Sirius admitted with a chuckle. He turned back to face James, "You feeling any better?"

"A bit," James replied. "I think I only have about two more days of being laid up in here."

"Five," Sirius immediately replied.

"Two."

"Four," Sirius lowered his demand.

"Three."

"Deal," Sirius leaned back with a smile.

Lily looked slightly confused before jumping into the conversation. "How can you be out in three days?"

Sirius smiled as James began to cringe. "I'll be fine," he protested.

"You need at least seven days to recover," Lily demanded.

"Three," James offered weakly. "I don't need that long to recover. I'll go crazy."

"Seven," Lily insisted.

"Four," James tried.

"Seven."

"Five?"

"Good enough," Lily replied. She leaned back with a smirk. Sirius held up his hand and she slapped it. James looked shocked, turning his head between the two of them. "I've just been swindled," he muttered.

Sirius ignored him and looked at Lily. "You are a genius. I should have thought of bringing a girl into this long ago." Lily smiled and nodded her head. "Now stand up and show me what you can do with your weapons," he suddenly commanded. "That's my reward?" Lily wined. It was James's turn to smirk. Sirius nodded and motioned for Lily to stand up. She did so resentfully. "What do you want me to do?" She asked.

"Well, James can help you with your blades, even if he is an invalid for the next five days." There was a slight emphasis on five and James scowled at the reminder. "So I'll help you with your swordsmanship," Sirius continued. Lily groaned and began to take off her blades. "No, keep those on," Sirius interjected. He grabbed her sword from the ground hilt-first. He flipped it and handed it to Lily. She grasped it one hand and it instantly hit the ground. "Two hands," Sirius instructed with a chuckle. Lily tried again and managed to hold it without much shaking. "Now swing it at me," Sirius said. Lily complied and the next two hours were spent practicing the same mind numbing drills over and over. Finally Sirius let her relax. "I have to go," he announced, putting his sword back where it hung on the wall. Lily looked over the serpent design, this time with hate instead of admiration.

"What, no sword?" Lily teased, collapsing on one of the beds.

"I can use my daggers better anyway," Sirius answered with a shrug. "It the are where I always beat James." Sirius pulled a long, wicked blade from behind his back. "I prefer this to a sword." He sheathed it again and turned around.

Lily snorted, "How is that different from a sword?"

"Lighter," James answered from his bed. He was polishing his own sword with a rag. "Sirius is faster, but I'm stronger so I have the advantage when it comes to swords. He always did beat me with knives though," James admitted with a rueful smile. "We'll probably switch jobs when I recover enough to wield this." He pointed at the crimson hilt. Lily sighed, thinking of James as her teacher with that despicable sword. "Try your dagger again," James ordered. Lily groaned and pulled out her wrist dagger.

"Yea! I hit the center of the target!" Lily cheered a week later.

James clapped his hands and walked up next to her. "Now can you do it again?" he challenged her. Lily grinned and pulled a knife from her boot. She threw it and it landed next to the other one. James smirked and looked at the two blades stuck in the wall. "You're almost as good as Wormtail at throwing those things."

"Hey!" Peter protested. He pulled out his own daggers and threw them so they formed a diamond around her two. "I'm much faster and accurate than her," he defended himself.

"I said almost," James said. "Besides, she's getting there." Peter sighed and went back to the paper he was reading. "We should go celebrate," he said, turning back to Lily.

"Celebrate what?" Lily inquired.

"That you can throw a dagger and I'm allowed out of this place." Sirius had threatened to give James some more cuts if he didn't sit tight for the next couple days when James had last tried to escape. Lily grinned and opened her mouth to reply when Remus burst through the door with Sirius close behind.

"Dumbledore says that the raid is going down now," Remus reported. "He wants us there in a couple minutes." He walked over to the wall and grabbed his sword and Sirius's. He threw it at Sirius who caught it smoothly out of the air and slid it into his sheath.

James turned to Lily with an apologetic look. "Tomorrow?" Lily nodded. James grabbed his sword and collected Peter's daggers. Peter slid them back into various places. "Lets go," James took charge and left the room, muttering to Sirius. Lily prayed that they would be okay and grabbed her own blunt sword. She began the paces that James had ordered her to do.


	7. Can't Kill'

The Marauders walked out of the passageway before they settled into a light jog. "So where exactly are we headed?" James asked.

"The school?" Remus answered in a questioning tone.

"You don't know!" Sirius replied.

"I got an owl from him. It just said 'Raid. Come now.'" Remus defended.

"Eloquent," James sighed.

"Malfoy's," A new voice answered gruffly. "Thanks, Alastor." James changed his direction slightly without changing speed. "Why are you running so stiffly, anyway?" Moody asked. "Coincidently, Malfoy," James answered. "He and some other Death Eaters ganged up on me." "So this should be fun for you," Alastor commented.

James smiled ruefully. He picked up his pace and put his hand on the hilt of his sword. Sirius's grin was even more sinister. They arrived there five minutes later to see the fight in full force. Remus rushed in and pulled a dark-clothed figure off of one of Dumbledore's men and punched him once in the face, knocking him unconscious. He offered his hand to the man on the floor. "Later," Sirius said before rushing off to help someone he recognized. James tipped his head towards Peter and Moody before rushing off to look for Malfoy.

He found Malfoy holding off one of Peter's contacts. It ended with a slash to the arm that sent John to the floor, screaming and crawling away. "I think I owe you something," James commented. He jabbed at Malfoy and was rewarded with a dodge.

"I'm glad to see that you can still move," Malfoy replied, slashing at James.

"I heard that your fiancé left you," James countered, "Couldn't take your face. Maybe I should fix it for her." He lunged forward with his sword in one hand and threw a dagger with the other. Malfoy deflected the sword but missed the dagger. It hit him in the hand, forcing him to drop his sword when he grabbed the injury. James stepped forward and pulled out another dagger. "Now what can I do about that face?" Malfoy scuttled for his sword.

"James, we have to go. He's showing up and Dumbledore's not here with the reinforcements yet." Remus shouted. "So what were you protecting," James asked. He gave one last look at Malfoy before throwing a dagger at his other hand. "I'll take this." James grabbed the chest that Malfoy had been standing in front of and ran back towards his friends.

"Still can't kill me," Malfoy taunted. "I told the Dark Lord where to find your parents that night. I told him how to kill your dad. And while he did it I killed your grandparents. But even after all of that you still can't kill me. Can't kill anyone for that fact. Always want to take them in, put them in jail." James growled and spit on the ground. "James we have to go!" Sirius insisted. Sirius grabbed one end of the chest and they sped out of the area.

Lily's sword tip hit the ground. She panted before dropping it completely. Kicking it to the corner, she sat down in a chair. "Stupid sword," Lily muttered. She picked up her dagger and threw it at the target one the wall. She was going over to retrieve it when the Marauders walked back in. "Hey," she greeted. "You aren't hurt."

"Yeah," Peter replied sarcastically, wiping the blood off a cut on his face. They were all covered in assorted types of cuts and forming bruises.

"I meant seriously,' Lily clarified. She passed out some of the rags she had put in the pan above the water.

Sirius smirked and dropped his part of the chest on the table. James followed suit. James opened it and began to rifle through it. "So?" Sirius said expectantly. "Just papers," James answered. "I'll give them to Dumbledore. We might finally be able to prove that Malfoy is on Unc-Voldermort's side."

"That's disappointing." Remus sighed. "I was hoping it was some money at least. This place gets kind of old." Lily laughed. "So what was the raid about anyway?"

"Distraction," Peter answered. He wrapped his wrist in one of the bandages. "Dumbledore wanted something that Malfoy was supposed to be guarding and by releasing James, the person that Malfoy absolutely despises, on Malfoy, he wasn't there to guard it. So I assume that Dumbledore now has whatever it is."

"Hey Remus, do me a favor?" James asked. "Yeah." "Take Wormtail and go deliver this to Dumbledore. He should be back at the school by now." Remus took an apple and bit into it before picking up one side of the chest. "Later," Peter said. They set off at a slow pace, Remus limping slightly.

"Hey, I'll be back soon. Would you mind making me up some dinner?" Sirius asked. Lily nodded and grabbed some food to begin preparing something for the three of them.

"He's going to check on his brother," James said absentmindedly when Sirius was gone.

"What?"

"He's going to check on his brother," James repeated. "He always does after a big fight goes down. They haven't talked in ages. I don't think Regules even knows that he goes." Lily stayed silent. "I still owe you a celebration," James changed the subject, cheering up slightly.

"I thought we were going to do that tomorrow." Lily replied.

"I know," James answered. "But I need something to cheer me up."

"Okay," Lily answered. She threw her concoction onto a pan and left it hanging over the fire. "Where do you want to go?"

"I want to show you someplace," James replied.

"Just let me change first," Lily replied.

"You can wear a skirt if you want," James added.

"I thought you said if I went outside I had to look like a boy." Lily reminded him.

"It doesn't matter at this place," James said.

"Okay. Cool. Thanks." Lily replied. She walked over to her clothes and James turned around. "Does this look okay with my hair?" She asked. She fingered her newly shortened hair and James looked at her. "You look beautiful," James told her honestly. "Come on." He held out his hand and Lily took it.

"So where is this place?" Lily asked. James was leading her out of the hole in a new direction. "Just someplace I went as a child," James replied. "Where did you grow up," Lily inquired.

"Around," James answered.

"Specific," Lily answered.

"Tell you what, we'll do a trade," James proposed. "A question for a question."

"Fine," Lily said, delighted. "Me first. Where did you grow up."

"Godric Hollow," James answered promptly.

"That place sounds sweet."

"It was a small town," James explained. "Everyone knew everyone else. I remember that on the night I went away to school the entire place showed up for a going away party. I used to love spending the first day of spring climbing a tree and just sitting there; with Sirius next to me of course."

"Aw. You made me want to go there."

"I'll take you there sometime," James promised. "Where did you grow up?"

"London, of course." Lily replied. "Siblings?"

"None, I was the spoiled only child. You?"

"Same. What is your favorite color?"

"What does that tell you," James scoffed.

"Just answer the question." Lily demanded.

"Crimson." James stopped and opened a door. "We're here." He pulled Lily's hand and forced her out into the place.

"It's an alley," Lily pointed out.

"Yeah, I noticed that," James replied dryly. He slouched against one of the walls and began running his hand over the hilt of his sword. Lily noticed the beginning of a word before his entire hand covered it. "So what is this place?" Lily asked.

"My question," James reminded her softly. Lily thought she could hear his voice cracking. "Yeah," she replied. "If someone murdered your family, your entire family; they burned your house, destroyed your life, could you kill them? Even if they were like family before it happened, even if you owed your life to them, could you kill them? Kill the person who helped him to do it? Could you?" James's voice raised in volume with every word. He screamed the last sentence.

"No I couldn't," Lily answered. She picked up his hand and held it. "I couldn't," She repeated. She leaned her head against his shoulder and they just sat there. Finally James picked up his hand and in extension Lily's and dropped it again.

"It's your question now, Lily," James said.

Without moving her head Lily asked, "Was it Malfoy?"

"No," James answered. "I wish it had been. He only helped. It was Riddle's, Voldermort's. My father wouldn't have lost to a man like Malfoy. He actually beat him in a duel before. He, Malfoy, was in love with my mom. Even then though, my dad couldn't kill him."

"You did the right thing, James, by not killing him."

"But he would kill me."

"You did the right thing," She insisted. James's hand traced the inscription again. "So what was your life like as a child?" He asked.

Lily thought about how she didn't want anybody to know about her past; even though Sirius already knew. "I grew up in a mansion," She started.

"So you were a lady," James crowed. "Yeah," Lily admitted. She fell silent and stared into space. "Sorry, continue," He apologized.

"I had one sister, Petunia. To put it politely, we never got along. She was the perfect child, with the perfect debut and the perfect gowns. I was always the weird child who preferred wearing only one layer of clothing and sometimes even trousers. I even had a horse, Crimson. I used to dig in the dirt whenever my parents weren't looking. But when I got older, my mom made me a promise. If I were to act like my perfect older sister then I could marry anyone I wanted, that is anyone who had a sizeable fortune. I had been engaged to so many dim-witted, malicious morons before then that I jumped at the chance. So I was. I dressed in the twenty pounds of clothing and simpered like one of the morons that I despised. I had the conversations about ribbons. But then the day before I met you my dad, the Lord Evans, told me that I was getting engaged and he would introduce us tomorrow and if I didn't like it than I could leave. I was just a girl, I couldn't inherit anyway. When I met Malfoy I decided that I would leave. Then I met you guys." She squeezed his hand and adjusted her head.

"I hope I wasn't one of those, what was it, dim-witted, malicious morons, was I?" Sirius asked.

"How long have you been there?" Lily shrieked.

"About since James figured out you were a lady. He nodded at me so I figured that I shouldn't be the second person to interrupt you." Lily tuned to James who shrugged, "I wanted to hear this story. But wait, you two were engaged?"

Lily smiled. "I was three when it went into effect and canceled." Was that relief she saw in him. "Well, I'll be leaving now. I just wanted to see if you were okay. But I'm guessing that Lily is a better company to have along."

"No, stay," Lily insisted. "I want to hear one of your embarrassing stories, now that you have heard mine." Sirius glanced at James, who smiled ruefully before gesturing with his free hand at the space across from them. Sirius sat down, taking off his sword and placing it in the area in front of him.

"Did James tell you about the time he declared himself king of the forest?" Sirius asked.

"No, he didn't," Lily grinned.

"We were seven years old and he decided that he wanted to be Robin Hood. So we stole some of his guardian's bows and set out. He was Robin and I was Will." Sirius continued his story, much to James's embarrassment. Later Peter and Remus joined the circle and told some stories about Sirius in revenge. They all seemed slightly happier when James started smiling. But even when he was laughing James never released Lily's hand and she never moved her head. And that night, for the first time since he was five years old he didn't have a nightmare, he had a dream.

**A/N**

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that this is so late. I hope that everyone liked it.


	8. Apples

**Apples**

"We really need to buy a bed today," James announced, rolling out of bed the next morning.

"You seem cheery," Peter replied. He rubbed his neck and stood up. Groaning, he put one hand on the small of his back and glared at the chair. "But I do think that you're right."

"But how are we going to get the money?" Remus inquired. He was sitting at the table, deep in a game of cards with Sirius.

"Gin," Sirius announced, laying down his hand. "Same way as always." He stood up and began grabbing weapons. He threw one of his scabbards at Lily's head. "You coming?" he asked.

"Hey!" James interjected. He picked the scabbard off of Lily and threw it back at Sirius. He turned expectantly back at Lily. After a second he turned back to Sirius. "She's still asleep," he announced in half-amazement.

"And you compared her skill to mine," Peter scoffed. James glared. He leaned over and shook Lily gently.

"Yeah," she murmured.

"Get dressed," James commanded. "We're going to get you a bed." Lily rolled over and ignored James. This time James threw the scabbard at her.

Ten minutes they were walking down yet another passageway. "So what exactly do you guys do to make money?" Lily asked.

"We fight," Sirius answered. Lily gave him a blank stare. Remus took pity on her and explained. "You remember that first day when you saw James and Sirius practice?" Lily nodded. "I do not know how good of a judge you are but those two are among the best swordsman in Britain." He stopped like that was supposed to make sense.

"So…?" Lily said.

"We fight other people for money," Sirius finally caved. Lily's face suddenly lit up. "Oh," she replied.

"People may be to general of a term," Peter interjected, "more like nobles or their champions."

"Very Robin Hood of you," Lily laughed. James blushed and Sirius laughed. James hit him on the back. Sirius smiled when James shook his hand and made a face. "Scabbard," he chuckled.

"Come on," Remus said. He took of at a fast jog. Sirius and Peter quickly settled into pace with him. "It takes forever at a slower pace," James said apologetically. He touched Lily's hand gently before going speeding up to even out with the other three. Lily smiled and sighed at the same time.

"We're here," Sirius announced half an hour later. He pushed above them and jumped up through the opening. The others followed at a slightly less energetic pace.

"Where is here?" Lily asked.

"A small town in the opposite direction of London," Remus answered.

"Small but rich," Sirius muttered. "Prince Black and his associates make most of their money out of this port city. They also like to spend their weekends here telling their wives that their away on a business trip. Instead they sleep with whores and fight the peasants."

"They aren't any good either," Peter smirked. He smiled and pointed at one of the stumbling drunks that Lily had just assumed was a sailor. "Guess who."

"Lord Travers," Sirius supplied. Lily laughed recognizing the name. _If only I could have told Jane this _she thought.

"Down to business," James broke in. "Who is the lucky person tonight?" He knelt down and rubbed some dirt on his face, his outfit not needing more of it. He threw some at Sirius on his way up. He stumbled slightly and walked into a nearby building. Sirius put Lily somewhat between him and Remus and strutted after him.

"You think you can beat me?" James was saying to a random guy. The guy shrugged and walked off. James frowned and looked around. Sirius nudged him slightly and pointed at two men who were already in a fight. "No, not enough of a challenge," James shook his head. Remus pointed at a group of two other men. James smiled, "Much better. Padfoot?"

"I'm up for it," Sirius grinned. He threaded his way over to the two men. "What's going on?" He asked. The men grunted.

"That's a pretty girly you got next to you," The first man jeered.

Lily felt honored. "Who you calling girly?" James shot back. Oh, yeah, right.

"Red-headed girl."

"Tell you what-"

"Jugson," the man granted.

"He," point at Sirius, "and I will fight you. You win; 500 pounds and we'll find you some real girls. We win; 500 pounds our way and Ayden gets his chance for revenge."

"Ayden to afraid to challenge us himself," the second man sneered.

"No sword," Lily smiled weakly.

"You got daggers," the man pointed out.

"Best two out of three." Sirius said. "The three of us each pick the weapon we want to fight with and in exchange you get 600 pounds if you win."

Lily frowned. "Fine, but we'll pick a third person." The first man countered. James nodded. "Rodolphus," the man called.

Lily cringed. "Know him?" Sirius asked softly.

"He was married to one of my neighbors."

"Really, who?"

"Bellatrix," Lily answered. This time Sirius cringed. "Know her?"

"My dear cousin," Sirius answered. He tapped James on the shoulder. "My new cousin-in-law apparently," he whipsered to James. James laughed, "This fool? You want to do the honors of fighting of him?" Sirius shrugged, "Should prove entertaining."

"I'm first," James announced. The no-name man stepped forward. James smiled and pulled out his sword. "Any objection to swordplay?" He asked. The man shook his head. "Uh, James," Remus objected. "Yeah." "I think the owner cares a little." "Oh, right."

James led the small group outside. He held his sword out in front of him and took a bow. The guy growled and leapt forward. James smiled and parried the blow. Lily lost track of the fight. She saw the guy furiously attacking James while James smirked and blocked each one of them. Then James was leading the fight suddenly. He spun the guy in a circle with him, backing up an inch each time he moved. Then James spun to one side, the opponents sword fell to the ground, forcing the man off balance. James flipped his sword around and hit the man's hand with the hilt. The adversary dropped his sword and struck out with foot. James laughed, caught his sword, and placed the tip at the male's throat. He froze in place. "Concede?" James asked. The defeated no-name shook his head slightly and James sheathed his sword.

"1-0" Remus announced. "Ayden, you're up." Lily nodded and swallowed. "D-daggers," she said.

This time Jugson was the challenger. "Let's play apples then," he said with a grin. Remus and Peter paled. "What?" Lily asked, looking at Peter.

"Do you know what apples is?" Peter asked. Lily shook her head. '

"Ever heard of William Tell?" Sirius asked without looking at her.

"No," Lily answered, "should I have?"

"There was this pole with the leader's hat on it. All people were supposed to bow before it. Tell, being a patriot, didn't. As punishment he was to shoot an apple off his youngest son's head using a crossbow." Remus explained. "He had two bolts, one to shoot the apple with and one to shoot his captor should he miss with the first."

"So?" Lily asked.

"He shot the arrow clean off," Peter answered. Jugson pulled two apples out of a bag. He tossed one to the no-name man and one to Lily. "Pick your target," he said with a grin. Lily glanced at the four marauders. "Here," James held up one hand. Lily threw the apple in reflex. "You sure?" Sirius asked. James nodded and went to stand next to no-name.

"You first," Lily offered. Jugson smirked and threw a small dagger in his hand. It split the top of the apple. Lily frowned and drew the dagger out of the sheath on her left. James gave her a reassuring grin. Lily squinted, hefted the dagger, and then threw it at the apple. _Thunk_. Sirius, Remus, and Peter all flinched. Sirius and Lily both ran towards James. Sirius pulled a flask of water out of his pocket and threw it on James's face.

"I have got to buy you smelling salts one of these days," James groaned. He rubbed his head and tossed Lily back her dagger. "You closed your eyes," he accused. Lily snagged the dagger and slid it back in the sheath. They listened to the three strangers snorting in a circle.

"I'm so sorry, James," Lily apologized. "I was just so nervous. I'm so sorry," she repeated pathetically.

Sirius offered James his hand. He, in return, grasped it and was pulled up. "I'm fine, Li-Ayden. Just next time keep your eyes open, please." Lily nodded profusely. "It was a good toss though," James complimented. He held up the apple, "You were only about a centimeter off." Lily grinned weakly and James handed her the apple. He pointed out a small nick on the side of the apple.

"You are getting better," Sirius admitted. He walked over to his cousin and drew out the sword-like dagger that he was wearing on his back. "Straight fight or do you want to try throwing this at Judson's head?" Jugson grimaced and James smiled.

"I'm afraid I don't carry around one of those daggers," Rodolphus declined. "I could fight you sword to dagger though." Sirius turned around and looked at the other four. Remus and Peter shook their heads.

"Oh, here," Lily offered. She drew the dagger out of her own sheath. "Use mine." She flung it at Rodolphus. He stepped sideways and caught the hilt as it flew past him. He hefted it and tossed it up in the air. "To light," he announced. Sirius proffered his. Rodolphus compared the weights and then handed Sirius Lily's.

Sirius frowned and turned to Lily. "God, Ayden, how weak are you." Lily shrugged. Sirius took back to Rodolphus and took a bow. No-name and Rodolphus scowled on cue. Rodolphus bent his spine slightly, an imitation bow, never taking his eyes off of Sirius. Sirius attacked, faking a jab at Rodolphus's right leg and then turning mid-swing to end in a sweep at his left arm. Rodolphus didn't fall for it, blocking the swing and countering it with an attack. The fight continued on for several minutes before Sirius got the lead. In a stunning show of moves he disarmed Rodolphus. Rodolphus immediately grabbed another dagger out of his arm and threw it at Sirius's head. Sirius pitched himself sideways and the dagger hit the wall harmlessly. Identical daggers pinned Rodolphus to the wall. One at each of his limbs, holding the clothing to the wall. The scratch of steel on leather was heard as the three standing Marauders pulled at their swords and pointed them at the man who was standing nearest to them.

"Our money please," Sirius said picking himself off the ground. "Make it six hundred, I'm still feeling cranky about the whole trying to kill me thing." Jugson hissed and shook his head. James drew his dagger with his free hand and aimed it at Rodolphus. The three quickly grabbed sacks hanging on their belts and threw them at Sirius. The four took bows and Sirius stuck the coins in his belt. "Until next time," Peter smirked. The five quickly sped back the way they had come, James pulling Lily's hand to make her move faster.

Ten minutes later Lily finally stopped forcing James to be still too. "Why are we going so fast?" She demanded to know. "You even left you daggers."

"That reminds me," Sirius said, "here's you dagger back." He handed it to Lily and slid his own back into the sheath.

Lily took the dagger without taking her gaze off of James. "So?" she demanded.

"Jugson was rounding up his associates," James answered, "and Prince Black was one of them. We had to get out of there or they would have caught us."

"Caught you? You sound like your criminals," Lily scoffed.

"You don't get it, do you?" Remus asked. "Out here, they are the law. Voldermort and his underlings control things. If they see us, we're dead."

Lily sighed and turned back to James. "You didn't really have 600 pounds, did you?" She asked.

James and the others burst out laughing. "No Lily, we didn't actually have 600 pounds."

* * *

"We're going to go get your bed, Lily," Remus announced.

"And new daggers," Peter said looking at their respective weapons.

"Food too please," Lily requested. "Especially flour." Sirius nodded and walked out the door jangling coins as he went. "It feels great to have money," Lily heard as they strolled away.

Lily picked up her dagger before abandoning it for her paper and charcoal. She began to walk around the room looking for something to sketch. She saw Peter's sword, the green one, and began walking towards it. Noticing James she veered towards his instead. She gently took it down and set it on the table. She grabbed her charcoal and began to sketch it. Noticing the gleam from the diamonds, she began to run her hand up it. She tilted it sideways and looked closer at the blade. It almost looked like there was an inscription on the hilt. She grasped it more firmly and tilted it back. _James_ she read, in tiny minute detail _memento vivere_remember to live, she translated mentally _No matter what happens you have to live, be happy in your life. We will never stop loving you. Mom and Dad_ Scratched crudely in after the engraving _**requiescat in pace **_let him rest in peace _**John and Gwen Potter 5/23 **_Lily traced over the engraving with the tips of her finger.

"Lily, I forgot my-" James trailed off. He looked at Lily tracing the hilt of his blade. "Sword." He finished.

"James," Lily stood up. James looked from her to the sword and turned around and walked back out. "James," Lily called again. James didn't look back.

**A/N**

**18 reviews!! You guys are awesome. Many thanks to:**

**WhiteCamellia**

**marauders rox**

**MoonysChick23**

**Opalshine **

**Poisoned Elfie **

**OstrasizedPotato **

**ILuvJackSparrowMoreThanU **

**GoddessGirl1372 **

**DolphinDreamer24-7 **

**BrazilianPrincess **

**An Aspiring Author **

**szabatka2 **

**flower123 **

**Angeleyes274**

**As a thank you, here's the next chapter. Oh, and what's everybody's all time favorite Lily and James fanfiction? **


	9. Almost

**Almost**

James stomped up to Sirius, Remus, and Peter. "Uh Prongs, I hate to mention this but you still don't have your sword," Sirius commented. James flashed a sarcastic grin and kept walking. "Seriously Prongs, what's up?" Sirius asked, catching up to James.

"It's nothing," James insisted. Sirius gave him a look. "Lily was looking at my sword," James muttered.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Lily was looking at my sword," James repeated slightly louder.

Sirius patted him on the back. "They're dead, James. I'm sorry but they are and alienating Lily isn't going to bring them back. We will get their revenge, I promised you that and I meant it. Just don't let him win. Tell Lily what happened that night. Hell, tell her that you stole the sword from someone. Just stop doing this to yourself."

James looked down at his empty sword sheath. "Can you believe it's really been 14 years?"

"Can you believe it's only been one year since we've been living there?"

"It feels like 10," Remus commented.

"Five," Peter put in.

"Only one month," James added.

"At least eighteen years," Sirius said.

James smiled. "Remember when we all first met at school?"

"I swear McGonagall grew a grey hair right then," Sirius smiled fondly.

"Filch first," Remus argued.

"And being able to get into fights with Snape constantly," James said, "was just icing on the cake." The other three burst into laughter at the memory. James glanced once more at his scabbard before covering it with his hand. "You two grab the food, we have daggers, meet up in ten minutes for bed."

"Here." Sirius threw one of the pouches to Remus. He caught it in one hand and tucked it in his belt.

"See you in ten," Remus waved and walked in the other direction with Peter.

James and Sirius headed to an out of the way store. "You okay?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," James nodded. "It's just- the sword was the only thing they left to me. Voldermort took the rest. I didn't want to share it."

"I know," Sirius said. "I know." He hefted his own sword and held it out. He angled it slightly before sheathing it. "Don't look now but we picked up company."

James smiled, "On the count of three?" Sirius nodded. "One," James counted.

"Two," Sirius said.

"Three," they whispered in unison. Together they pivoted on their heels and grinned. James waved with one hand and tossed a dagger in the hand with the other. Sirius drew his sword and tilted his head. The small figure that was following them ducked into the nearest store. It happened to be a pet store, specializing in their attack dogs. James laughed aloud and Sirius's mouth split into a wide grin as the man ran out and in the opposite direction.

"That was almost too easy," James admitted.

"You think he recognized us?" Sirius asked.

James watched the pickpocket turn the corner and looked like he was considering it. "Maybe," he answered. They continued walking towards the store.

"When was the last time we were at the cliff?" Sirius asked.

"Umm…three months ago," James answered.

"We need to go tomorrow," Sirius said.

James nodded and stepped into the store. It was entirely different from the one that he had dragged Lily. The entire inventory was more varied and altogether more dangerous. Sirius and James started testing out a variety of daggers before moving onto the other weapons.

* * *

Lily stared at James's retreating figure. She looked back at the engraving and remembered James's rant of the night before. Riddle had killed his parents, John and Gwen Potter. Lily collapsed back in the chair and stared at the engraving. "James," she whispered. She gently picked up the sword and returned it to its rightful place on the wall. She collapsed onto her chair and mournfully picked up her paper and charcoal. She began to sketch the curve of a tree.

* * *

"Why is this bed so heavy?" Peter complained. The other three Marauders shot him a dirty look. "What?" He asked.

"You went through the paces with James's 'tutoring' and you still find this heavy?" Remus practically shrieked.

"Person," James warned. They stopped moving and the person edged out of the way.

"This is heavy!" Peter insisted.

James shook his head, "If I had a free hand I would throw your new dagger at you." Peter flinched at the threat. Sirius nodded in silent agreement. James and Sirius, as the strongest, had been stuck carrying the new weapons and food. Sirius was about to kill the inventor of flour.

"Left," Remus instructed. They all shuffled in one direction.

"Wait," Sirius said. He dropped his side of the bed, forcing all of them to do the same. "We still have forty pounds left, why don't we hire some help."

James collapsed onto the bed. "Why didn't we think of that about five blocks ago?"

"Our plans were blocked from the sheer horror of having to pick out house ware," Remus suggested. Lily had insisted that they pick up new blankets, in addition to a thread and needle to fix some of the smaller holes.

"That could be it, or we're just idiots." Peter added, sitting next to James. "Great idea, Padfoot."

"I'm glad you think so Wormtail," Sirius said, lying down on the bed, "go hire someone." He tossed the money to Peter and shut his eyes.

"Why me?" Peter asked. James held up the new dagger and moved it around dauntingly. Peter immediately turned around and walked into the nearest alehouse. Remus leaned against the wall and started talking to James. Five minutes later Peter walked out with four guys in tow. "Let's go," he announced. Remus poked Sirius with the tip of his dagger. Sirius sat up, smacking Remus in the face as part of the process.

"I'm Alex" the lead guy introduced himself.

James shook his hand and then picked up the daggers. He threw them at Peter, the flour and such soon following from Sirius. Peter opened his mouth and then closed it, deciding it was pointless. "That's James," Remus introduced him. "I'm Remus,"

"Sirius," Sirius introduced himself, jumping off the bed and grabbing an end of it.

"Tyler." "Brandon." "Jack." The other guys introduced themselves. The seven grabbed ends of the bed and started shuffling towards the hideout. Peter walked after them.

* * *

"Stop here," James said.

"In front of the Pig?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Sirius answered. He crossed his arms and looked at Alex. "Why?"

Alex shook his head. "Thanks for the money," he said, walking away. Peter sighed and threw the daggers and food back at James and Sirius. He picked up the last corner of the bed and they began to walk towards the entrance of their passage.

* * *

Lily sighed, put down her charcoal, and looked at the sketch. She idly stared into space for a moment before picking up the charcoal and drawing more lines.

"Finally," Remus groaned, dropping the bed. "I never thought I would say this but home sweet home."

"Oh, you're back," Lily said, jumping up. She looked at Peter, Remus, and then Sirius before finally settling on James. "James, I'm-"

James raised his hand and cut Lily off. "Forget it." Lily started to protest. "Forget it," James repeated.

"I think we made a mistake," Remus pointed out. He looked from the bed to the room that contained the others. What had seemed spacious before didn't quite look like it would contain the other bed.

"Huh," Sirius said. He threw the food in the pile.

"How are we going to make this work?" Remus asked.

James looked from the bed to the room. "Let's get to work," he muttered. The Marauders spent the next hour pushing the beds closer, readjusting, and moving items from one room to another trying to get the bed to fit in. Lily spent the hour watching them, making comments, and sketching another picture. Eventually James gave up and sighed. He collapsed onto his bed. The other three followed his example.

"If we just had one more foot," Remus muttered. Peter shook his head and groaned.

"We have to push two of the beds against the back wall lengthwise so that the ends are touching the wall and the headboards are together," Sirius decided. "The other three can be lined up in front of them but widthwise." He stood up and began pulling on one of the beds. The others sighed and began to help.

"Finally," Remus said, ten minutes later. "Padfoot, you're a genius." Sirius laughed and took a bow.

"Where did my bed end up?" Lily asked.

James looked around. "Sirius, Remus, Peter," he said, pointing towards the three beds that were lined up widthwise, "and you and me," he finished, pointing at the beds that were against the wall. Realizing what he said, he blushed, causing Lily to blush too.

Sirius opted out of teasing to move to the important subject. "Lily, can we have dinner now?"

Lily nodded, putting down her sketches. "What did you guys buy?"

"Peter wanted to just buy the flour you requested," Remus started. Lily frowned at the thought. "So we have an assortment of ingredients, including spices and dried meat."

Lily squealed and hugged Remus. "Actual food!" She half ran over to the bags and began to sort through them. The other four Marauders sat at the table patiently.

"Hey, Lily, what's this?" Sirius asked. He turned over the three pieces of paper that were on the table. "This looks like me," he said surprised.

"Why are you surprised?" Remus asked. "You've seen her sketches before." He reached over and snagged the sketches out of Sirius's hands. "These are amazing!" Remus said flipping through the pages.

Peter sniggered and grabbed the papers. He got to look at them briefly before James got a hold of them. "Is this us when we're young?" James asked.

"Yeah, I was just guessing what you looked like. Was I close?" Lily asked over her shoulder. She stirred her concoction once before sitting down at the last chair.

"Close," James said, squinting at the picture of Sirius and him up in a tree. James had a bow in his arms that was about three sizes to big for him. Sirius was also holding a bow that had an arrow strung up on it. They were both wearing serious expressions.

"My hair was slightly longer," Sirius commented. Lily grabbed the picture and made a few slight adjustments. She held it up for Sirius to look at. Sirius tilted his head before smiling. He reached out and grabbed it. "Can I have this?" He asked.

"Sure," Lily answered. "I don't care." Sirius grinned and stuck the drawing on his bed.

"I'll take it this is of ten minutes ago," James commented. He held up the picture of the four Marauders while they were moving the bed. Lily nodded as James set down the picture. Peter reached forward and grabbed it so that he could have a chance to actually look at it.

James paused as he looked at the last picture. It was a portrait of James. His sword was in his right a hand, a short dagger in his left. James laughed at the smirk on his face and the windswept appearance to his hair. He was in a crouched position, the blades almost crossed. A single drop of blood was falling from the tip of the sword. The hazel eyes were narrowed and his clothes had several cuts in them. James looked like he was in the heat of a battle but not attacking. He was almost acting protective towards an unseen person behind him. The real James stared at the picture for a few moments before gently setting it down on the table. "Can I have this?" James asked, echoing Sirius's earlier comment.

"Sure," Lily repeated.

"Do me a favor though?"

"What?"

"Sign your name on the bottom," James requested. He handed the sketch back to Lily.

"Why?" Lily laughed as she complied.

"I want to prove that I knew you before you were famous," James answered seriously. He took the picture back and placed it relevantly in his chest.

"Hey Lily, as long as you're giving out sketches, can I have this one?" Remus asked. Lily nodded and stood up to check on dinner.

"Food," she announced. Sirius grinned and ran up to the pan with his plate. "You remind me of a teenager sometimes," Lily said teasingly.

Sirius settled back at the table with his plate. "Lily, I am a teenager. Nineteen years old as of six months ago."

Lily reached for Remus's plate and began to fill it. "Really?" She asked surprised.

"Seriously," Sirius answered. He dug into his plate as Remus was returned his. Peter offered up his.

"I was nineteen, five months ago." Remus answered.

"Three months ago," Peter offered. He grabbed his plate and began to eat as well.

James stood up and grabbed both his and Lily's plate and walked up to Lily. "So how old are you?" Lily asked, serving the food.

"An age," James answered, carrying the food back. He settled back at the table, placing Lily's plate in front of her chair.

"15 then," Lily teased. James shook his head and took a bite without answering.

"18 until one week from now," Sirius answered for him. "Prongsie here doesn't like admitting that he is the youngest of us." James reached over and swiped Sirius's plate before going back to eating his own. "Hey," Sirius protested. James ignored him.

"How old did you think we were?" Remus asked out of curiosity.

"Around twenty-four," Lily answered honestly. Sirius reached over to try to steal his plate back. James picked it up with one hand and continued eating with the other.

"How old are you anyway?" Peter asked.

"Eighteen for another two months," Lily answered.

"See you're not the youngest anymore," Sirius teased. James waved Sirius's plate around and remained silent.

"Why didn't you tell me your birthday was next week?" Lily asked.

James shrugged. "I never thought it was that big of deal."

"And he didn't want to admit that he was the youngest," Sirius repeated. He stood up and walked around to James's side of the table. The second Sirius reached his side of the table, James replaced the plate. Sirius frowned and followed his plate.

"Sirius thinks that we should go to the cliff tomorrow," James changed the subject.

"Sounds fine," Remus replied. "Dumbledore didn't have anything for us to do anyway."

"Great!" Peter put in. "Loved the food, Lily." He put his plate in the pile and leapt into his bed.

"Going to sleep already?" Remus asked.

"Chair," Peter groaned. Remus grinned. "I have to admit Lily, the food was incredible," Remus said.

"I love having actual ingredients. Thanks again, Remus," Lily replied. Sirius coughed. "And thanks for the bed everyone," Lily acknowledged. Sirius and Remus stood up and put their plates next to Peter's.

"Come on," Sirius said, throwing something at Peter. "We're supposed to be working in exchange for tomorrow off." Peter groaned and stood. They grabbed their weapons, mainly the new ones as James finished his meal. "Thanks Lily," he said. The other three were out the door before James began to strap his weapons on. He started with his sword.

"Wait, James," Lily said, as James was about to leave.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry," Lily finally got out. James tried to say something but this time Lily cut him off. "I shouldn't have done it and I'm sorry." She darted up to James and wrapped her arms around him.

"They were my parents," James said. "The ones that Riddle killed." He didn't release Lily from the hug. He ran one hand through her hair. They stood there for a few moments in silence.

"Prongs," Sirius called.

"I have to go," James whispered. Lily pushed back slightly, not releasing her grip, but just enough so that she could look James in the eyes. "Yeah," Lily agreed. James leaned in towards her, closing his eyes. Lily smiled slightly before closing her own eyes.

"PRONGS!" Sirius called louder. James heard footsteps and cursed inside his head. His eyes snapped open and he stepped back. "I have to go," he repeated. He turned around regretfully and walked out the door, giving Lily one more glance. Lily smiled sadly.

**A/N **

No kiss just quite yet. Maybe next time though. Getting reviews might convince me, hint, hint. Just kidding. Seriously though I have to go out of town for about a week. No internet. So the next chapter will probably be up in two weeks. Sorry for the wait.

Once again thanks to the reviewers. You guys are incredible.

MoonysChick23, elodrie, Herb3, ourlittlesecret7, marauders rox, BrazilianPrincess, Poisoned Elfie, WhiteCamellia, szabatka2, cosmopolitan, opalshine, GoddessGirl1372, james-s2-lily, An Aspiring Author, Arphendess Estelwen, DolphinDreamer24-7, siriusforeva, emerald lover, OstrasizedPotato, Angeleyes274, and ILuvJackSparrowMoreThanU.


	10. Swimmingamong other things

**Swimming….among other things**

"It's been too long," Remus announced. He stripped off his shoes and began to piles his weapons.

Peter grinned, "The last time was for my birthday, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Sirius answered somewhat surprised. "Why did we stop coming up here?"

James shrugged. He embedded his two wrist daggers into the nearest tree and began to throw his weapons underneath. "Do you remember the day that we found this place?"

"Oh Geez, we must have only been eleven then," Sirius groaned.

"We were running away from Filch," Remus remembered.

"Why, what did you guys do?" Lily asked.

"Let a couple snakes loose in his office," they answered in unison. James glanced over at Sirius and they burst into laughter. "His expression was priceless," Sirius managed to spit out. "Who knew that he had a pet rat?" Peter said sadly. That pushed Remus over his limit. He let out a few small giggles before joining James and Sirius in chortles.

"You killed a rat!" Lily raged.

"Technically the snake did," Sirius pointed out. "You like rats?"

"No," Lily answered.

"Then why are you mad?"

"You murdered a pet!"

"A rat," Sirius repeated.

"He had just made us polish every one of the school's swords," Remus defended.

"He killed our fly?" James offered.

"He ate our chicken?" Peter tried.

"He destroyed our hopes and dreams," Sirius declared dramatically. Lily laughed and the Marauders beamed triumphantly.

"Done," Remus announced.

"Yeah, me too," Sirius said. James and Peter nodded.

"Are you going, Lily?" James asked.

"You never told me anything other than the cliff," Lily said.

"Cliff," James pointed.

"River," Sirius joined in.

"Rope," Remus pulled on it to demonstrate.

"Swimming," Peter pulled it all together.

"I can't swim," Lily said with mild embarrassment.

"What?"

"Why not?" Peter demanded.

"There was no river near our house. Well, hygienic river," Lily amended.

"I can't believe it," Sirius stated.

"You want to learn?" James offered.

"Sure, thanks," Lily answered gratefully. She started to walk down the cliff and towards the bank.

"Lily," James called.

"Yeah?"

"You have to take off all of your weapons first," James reminded her.

"Right," Lily answered self-consciously. She turned back and began to balance her weapons in a pile next to Sirius's.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Sirius asked Remus.

"Thank you sir," Remus replied. He stripped off his shirt and grabbed the rope. He took a running start before letting all of his weight depend on the rope. Half-way across the river Remus relaxed his grip on the rope and dropped into the river.

"Wormtail," Sirius proffered the rope. Lily missed the jump as James shepherded her down the cliff. "How did you learn to swim anyway?" Lily asked.

"When we found this place I didn't see where the cliff ended so I ran right off. I did a belly flop before almost sinking. That was about when I learned to swim," James explained.

"Seriously?" Lily asked.

James nodded and began to take off his shirt. He stood there waiting for Lily. "Shoes," he reminded her after she stood in a trance for a few moments.

"Oh, yeah, right," Lily stammered. She bent down and took off her shoes. She put one foot in the river before jumping back out with a scream.

"What," James asked with concern.

"Co-cold," Lily stuttered.

James sighed. "It's not that cold," he said softly.

"Yes, it is," Lily protested.

James walked closer to her with out her noticing. "No, its not," he said. He grabbed Lily and jumped into the river with her. "See," he said after they had surfaced, James having to hold on to Lily so that she didn't sink, "Not that cold."

Lily wrenched one arm free and hit James on the head. "Cold!" she repeated. James shook his head, spraying water everywhere. He was laughing too hard to reply to Lily's latest comment. Lily glared at him until he stopped. "Alright, alright," James said. "You can go back to the shore, if you can get there." He released his grip on Lily to gesture towards the shore. Lily screamed again and started flailing her arms. James quickly placed two hands underneath her back so that she was floating.

"What's with all the screaming?" Sirius asked as he came swimming down to them.

"Lily was under the mistaken impression that it was cold," James explained. He tilted Lily so that she was vertical and started instructing her on how to move her arms and legs.

"Then by that account at least she's quieter about it then you were," Remus added. He was on his back, floating between Sirius and Peter.

Peter gave Lily a critical gaze. "And much less pink," he added, "almost a blue actually."

Sirius laughed as James shot them a dirty glance. "He was not pink, he was a masculine red," Sirius defended him, "and that girly shriek that everyone heard was actually a manly bellow." James was stuck between deciding whether Sirius was mocking him or trying to defend him and just happened to be horribly bad at it. "And no matter what anyone says he _could _have saved himself but he just thought that me having to jump in after him fully clothed and save him was a much better way to prove that he was in fact not the absolute dim-wit we always took him for." James made up his mind and attacked Sirius. Sirius was unwillingly pushed under the water and held there until he shoved James back. James retaliated by splashing water into Sirius's open mouth. "Oh, that's war," Sirius declared after spitting the water out of his mouth. James smirked and motioned with his hand. Lily lay completely forgotten as she struggled to keep her bed above water.

"Help!" she finally managed to say in between frequent coughs full of water. Remus took pity on her and went over to help. He managed to teach her a sort of dog paddle that was enough at least to keep her head above water and give her a limited mobility. Meanwhile Peter was engaged watching the fight between Sirius and James.

-------------------

"I won," Sirius declared, shaking his head to dry off.

James flicked some water at him, "No way, I won. Lily?"

"Yeah?" Lily answered.

"Who won?" Sirius asked.

"I was to busy drowning to determine that," Lily answered indignantly well she strapped on some of her weapons. James walked over to help her with the ones that she was having difficulty with. "Ask Remus," she suggested.

"Saving Lily," Remus answered before anyone could ask.

"That leaves you Wormtail," Sirius pointed out. He put on his best grin before throwing an arm around his friend's shoulder.

Peter took one look at Sirius's and James's expressions. "Tie," he announced in a squeaky voice.

James and Sirius glanced at each other in mutual agreement and jumped on Peter. "Sirius won," Peter finally spit out. "Sirius!"

"Ha," Sirius said, standing up. "I always beat you in the water."

"Then we'll duel, with swords, when we get back," James decided. He put one arm around Lily's shoulder. "So how was your first time swimming?" he asked well ruffling her hair.

"Cold!" she answered. She slipped an arm around his waist.

"I don't see how you can think that," James answered. Lily snuck one hand, still wet, inside his shirt. The result was instantaneous. James shrieked, jumping a foot in the air. The other four burst out laughing.

"Good one," Sirius and Remus complimented her. They high fived her and then wandered off with Peter.

"Where are you guys going," Lily inquired.

"Moody wanted to talk to us about something," Remus said. Lily noticed that he glanced away from James when he said this.

"I'll come," James said, trying to regain some of his dignity.

Sirius shook his head. "Nah, we don't need you."

"Since when do you not need me?" James protested. "I should help some, since we spent all day goofing off. Just let me drop Lily off first."

"Go back with Lily," Remus told him. "Seriously, we don't need you." Again with the shifty look. This time James noticed it and he immediately turned to Peter.

"What's going on?" James took several strides forward so that he was standing just in front of Peter. Sirius began to run towards them, hoping to get Peter out before he broke.

"Nothing," Peter insisted. There was a crack in his voice. "Just plans."

James held Sirius off. "For what?"

Peter broke, "For your birthday party."

James laughed and released his friend. Sirius began to give Peter a lecture on standing up for himself. "You guys should never tell Peter anything. I'll see you later." He let the other three walk away. He and Lily departed in the opposite direction. "Every year," he laughed.

"Peter tells you every year?" Lily asked.

"Nah, normally I find out in other ways. They aren't the best at hiding secrets from me," James explained. He grabbed her hand. "It comes from living in too close of quarters." Suddenly he spun her into his arms. "Now I believe we were interrupted yesterday." He brought one hand up to gently tilt her head up.

Lily decided to tease him a little. She still hadn't forgiven him for the whole lake incident. "Interrupted during what?"

James was unfazed. "During this," he replied leaning down. Lily smiled as their lips met.

A/N

I know. I'm sorry this took so long. I just kept putting it off, and then I read the seventh book. (Don't read next part if you haven't read the book) Snape being in love with Lily made me depressed, so I didn't want to continue this until now. Anyways, I can't decide to whether to include that in my fanfic, so tell me your thoughts on it in a review. Thanks for reading. Until next time.

P.S. My friend Emma and I are writing a different fanfic, May the Darkness have Mercy. It's a black jewels or dark jewels, trilogy fanfic. I thought it was pretty good, so check it out if you have read that series by Anne Bishop. If not, I strongly recommend you go read that series. It is my all time favorite series. Even better than Harry Potter.


	11. Revelation

Revelation

James pulled a giggling Lily into their abode. He kissed her once more before spinning her into a chair at the table. He walked over to his chest of clothes and began pulling out a new outfit. "Do you need any dry clothes?"

Lily shook her head before she realized that James wasn't looking at her. She thought about how the maids used to wait on her hand and foot before she left. She wondered how Petunia was acting without Lily to stabilize her. She was blushing before she answered, "Yes, please. I'll get it myself though." She strolled over to open her own chest, a few inches from James's. A faint blush raised on James's cheeks as well. He began to pull his shirt over his head before he glanced over at Lily contemplating her clothes.

"I should change outside," he stated.

"I've seen you change before," Lily answered baffled. That had been one of the things that she had to adjust to. The boys just didn't care where they changed no matter how much Lily protested of modesty, James least of all. At least they didn't care when they were just changing their over clothes.

"Its just different now," James answered before rushing out the door. Lily laughed to herself before changing. She pulled her shirt slowly over her head, thinking back on the day. James was busy doing the same thing about ten feet away. He couldn't stop imagining the expression on Lily's face when he kissed her. It was one of bliss.

* * *

"So I believe you owe me a duel," Sirius announced. He startled James out of a reverie. James had been occupying himself by staring into space, thinking of things…

"What?" James asked. He jerked his head up to stare at Sirius, "Oh, yeah, the duel." He grabbed at his sword, fumbling slightly before getting up.

"Tired?" Sirius asked.

"Thinking," James responded. He pulled his sword out of its sheath and slid into the ready position. Sirius slashed and the dance began.

* * *

"You win, again," Sirius finally surrendered. James crowed and slid his sword into his sheath. He offered Sirius a hand up. "We fight with daggers next time," Sirius declared. He fell into a chair. James, distracted, replied yes. "James did you hear me?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," James answered. "What?" He turned his attention back to Sirius.

"You just agreed that you would duel me with daggers."

"I heard him," Remus asserted.

"I did?" James asked. The other three guys nodded. "I guess our next fight will be with daggers then."

"You never agree to fight me with daggers," Sirius said astonished. "Not since I beat you ten times in a row." He followed where James's gaze had been when he had replied. "Unless you're thinking of other things." His voice trailed off with a suggestive note.

James shook his head. "Just worrying that Malfoy might retaliate after the raid. Are we absolutely positive that no one know where we are hidden?"

Sirius sighed and handed money over to Peter and Remus. Lily looked at them with a bemused expression on her face. "What was that about?"

"I was giving James some credit and thought it would be a month before he asked that question again. These idiots only gave him two weeks. I lost," Sirius added unnecessarily.

"We're sure," Remus said in an exasperated tone.

James looked chagrined. "I just wanted to be sure that we were completely safe." He dug into the food that Lily handed him, clearly wanting to forestall any more conversation. The taste seemed to surprise him.

"Maybe we should just go after him again!" Sirius interjected. "I mean why not. This cycle is only going to end when one group is dead. Since Voldermort is basically untouchable, Malfoy is best next. Might even draw Voldermort out." He started shining his sword, for once ignoring food. He scraped it at the end of his sentence to make a point.

Remus looked thoughtful. "Yeah, maybe. We should run it by Dumbledore."

"And what? Get told that we need to be cautious. Killing isn't the only answer? By this point it is. How many times have they tried to kill us!? Killing them is the only way we're going to be safe. The only way anyone will be safe!"

James shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe this isn't the right time. We need to get Moody behind us first. We need to plan this."

"We need to fight!" Sirius burst out. He stood up. The chair banged against the ground. "I'm tired of almost being killed!"  
Lily hunched into the corner. She was scared by the direction this conversation was taking. Remus and Peter just sat there. Remus looked concerned for his friend. Peter merely looked like he was calculating something. James was the only one to react. He stood up slowly until he looked Sirius in the eye. "They've always been trying to kill us. Why does that bother you now?"

"Because I want to have what you and Lily have!" Sirius shouted back. James was shocked.

"What do you mean?" He tried to cover it up.

"I'm not stupid James. We've all noticed the game that you and Lily have been playing. We talk about it when you're not around. And I'm happy for you, I really am. I just want to have that too. And lets be honest, the odds of us finding another runaway that wants to live with us, not that good. Before I can find someone to spend my life with, I need to have a life. As long as Voldermort walks free, I can't have that and its killing me." Sirius bent down and straightened his chair. He sat down in it and looked at Lily. "Congratulations, by the way." He acted like his whole speech had never happened. "I'm glad James finally got the courage to do something. It was driving me insane. But as the best friend, its my duty to tell you that if you break his heart…" He paused to consider what he could threaten a woman with. "I'll make you kiss Snape." He finally came up with.

Lily shuddered as she remembered her first day here. "How did you?"

"You guys would not stop staring at each other when you thought we weren't looking." Sirius answered her. From across the table James finally sat down. He had been stunned motionless by Sirius's exposure.

"I didn't know you felt that way," James said quietly. His entire demeanor was diminished. He felt horrible. His best friend, brother by choice, had been struggling with this and James didn't even realize it. "Well I did, just not at this level."

"Well now you do," Sirius answered. He picked up his previously neglected bowl and began to dig into it. "This is really good," he complimented Lily. He seemed determined to ignore his shouted confession. Remus and Peter seemed content to do the same.

"We will fight them then," James replied. "Tomorrow, though. We need time to plan. We can at least Frank and Alice to help us out. Dumbledore doesn't have to know. We can leave a note here explaining, just in case." He exchanged a glance with Sirius, begging him to understand, to forgive. Sirius lived for danger, James didn't realize that that might change one day.

Sirius nodded. He finished off his dinner and turned to Remus and Peter. "You guys want to play a game?"

Remus scraped up the last bit of his meat and nodded. "Any game in mind?"

Sirius grinned wickedly. "Target practice."

"No thanks," Peter begged off. "I want to go talk to someone. Maybe pick up a new dagger before tomorrow." He scurried out the door.

Remus shrugged. "I'm game." Sirius got up to scratch impossibly small bull's-eyes on the wall.  
James turned to Lily. "You want to take a walk? We can clean when we get back."  
What the hell, Lily thought, I guess everyone knows anyway. "I would love to."

James looked around. They were walking next to the river. In the background, a crow took off, startled. He followed with his eyes. The crow, a symbol of death, was becoming far too suited to him for his choice. He would live, for Lily, if for no one else. He hesitantly reached out and took Lily's hand.

Lily smile shyly. "So they all knew," she said. Her voice betrayed her embarrassment. "I didn't realize we were being so obvious."  
James shrugged it off. "The four of us have been friends so long, I'm surprised that no one commented on my behavior earlier. Do you mind?" He seemed anxious. Lily decided that it was cute. He cared what he thought.

"Of course not," Lily replied in a soothing tone. "At least I can do this now whenever I want." She leaned over to kiss him lightly on the lips. James indulged himself and kissed her back. He ran one hand through her hair, using the other to pull her into him. Lily broke off the kiss a few minutes later. "We need to talk," she said insistently.

James nodded, not really caring what she said at the moment. "We can talk later," he replied. He kissed her again. Lily kissed him back for a moment before pushing his shoulders back.

"I'm serious. We need to talk."

James rocked on the balls of his feet. "What about?" _Please not about Sirius_ he thought. He couldn't handle it right then. He wanted to forget the pain that he had caused his friend.

"Tomorrow, your fight," Lily whispered. James nodded. "I don't want you to do it." James's mouth fell open. He hadn't expected this to happen. "I couldn't handle losing you. Not now. You're all I have."

James chuckled and pulled Lily into a hug. "You're not going to loose me, Lily. I promise you. Didn't you hear what Sirius wanted? We're going to end this. The four of us, we can do it. I will get my justice. I'll make this world safe for our future. And then, who knows? Maybe we can try living in a real house." The two stood there for a moment, simply embracing.

"I'm scared, James," Lily whispered into his ear. "What if it doesn't go as you plan. What if they're stronger."

"I have to do this, Lily," James stated. "I have to get my parent's justice. But I promise you I will come back. I even promise that if I can't into a fight that I can't win, I'll run away. It will break my heart, doing that, but I will. I promise," he said one last time. Lily shook her head, tears running down her face. James just held her, neither saying anything.

* * *

"They are going to fight Malfoy tomorrow," Peter revealed. His entire body was shaking with emotion. This was where hanging around with those brats paid off. They mocked him, were better than him with almost no effort. He would show them however. The Dark Lord would win, and when he did, Peter would be invincible. He would rule over those cocky monsters.

"You have done well, Wormtail." Voldermort said. "Now leave. You will find your reward in the usual place." Peter smiled gratefully and bowed. He walked out the door with his head held high. He would show them.

* * *

**A/N  
**I have said this in so many chapters lately, but sorry it took so long. I hope you guys like the Lily/James. Or to sappy? Tell me your opinion and I'll try to improve in the future. So big fight next chapter, obviously. And for future chapters, anyone have any ideas? I'll give you credit. I'm just running out of them.

And thanks for reviews last chapter. I'm sorry I didn't reply. But I did love them and they all made me smile. I swear I will reply this time. Even if its just a thank you.


	12. Saving You

**Saving you**

"Frank agreed," Sirius announced to the previously sleeping people in front of him. He threw his bag at James's head to ensure that he woke up. "Alice can't though. She's stuck running some errands for Dumbledore. So we're one short. I heard that lately Malfoy has taken to walking around with four new thugs, in addition to Crabbe and Goyle. And as simple as those two act, I still don't want them ganging up on one of us."

James sat up near the end of Sirius's announcement. He picked up the bag and chucked it back at Sirius. "You can never just say good morning, can you?"

"Nope," Sirius agreed with a big smile on his face.

"Be thankful there was no water," Remus grumbled. He pulled his pillow back over his head and turned over. Sirius kicked his bed again and went over to sit at the table.

"Lily made breakfast?" He asked with a surprised note in his voice. The girl in question was still lying in bed, seemingly undisturbed by Sirius's loud voice. Sirius looked from her down to the food in front of him, confused.

"Peter," James grumbled. "Now stop talking!" He shook his head back in forth in his pillow. "Stupid morning person," he muttered.

Sirius laughed and took a bite of the food in front of him. He chewed it for a few seconds, still distracted by James's comment. A second later food sprayed from his mouth.

"Ew!" he shouted. One hand rose to his mouth, as he attempted to scrub his tongue. When that didn't work, he rinsed his mouth out with water. Sirius grimaced and threw his food into the trash. "Peter made _that_!?"

James laughed and finally got out of bed. "What are you complaining about?" He managed to choke out between snorts.

Sirius was too busy rinsing out his mouth again, so he pointed at the food. James chuckled one last time before grabbing a bite. Five seconds later James was repeating Sirius's actions. Sirius managed to recover enough to point and laugh at James. Remus rolled out of bed and threw a pillow at Lily's head.

"Lily, will you please make us breakfast. It seems that the one Peter left was inadequate."

Lily stood up and glanced at Remus. "What, you don't want to try it?"

"No thank you," Remus answered. He cast a look in James's direction. "I didn't think that James would either, but I guess I was wrong. This does not seem to be one of his more intelligent days." Remus sat down at the smoothly, after avoiding the kick that James aimed at him. Lily smiled briefly before proceeding to the kitchen. Well she puttered around, Remus turned to Sirius.

"Now why exactly did you wake me up? Keep in mind that it has to be a good reason, or I will feed you more of Peter's food."

Sirius hurriedly repeated his earlier statement to Remus. Remus nodded and the two began going through the list of who else there was to ask. James occasionally chimed in with reasons why a certain person wasn't available. More often then not, the reason was that he would tell Dumbledore.

"Why can't I help?" Lily asked. "I know how to fight semi-decent by now. I mean, I can't compare to you three, but how many people do?"

"Malfoy," James immediately answered. "It's out of the question, Lily. You can't do this. It is too dangerous. We're just going to have to ask..." He paused trying to think of a name. "someone else," he finished weakly.

"There is no one to ask," Lily replied curtly. "You just said so yourself. I don't have to go up against Malfoy. I can fight Crabbe or Goyle or his other cronies." Lily smiled convincingly. She handed a plate of food to both Remus and Peter and held James's just out of reach. "Please?" she asked nicely.

James eyed the food that Lily was holding. He weighed how hungry he was against the level of disgusting that was Peter's concoction. Eventually he came to the conclusion that nothing would get him to eat that food.

"No." he reserved himself to a hungry fight.

Lily sat down and began to eat the food that was originally intended for James. She flashed him a smile when he growled. After a few seconds of James's growling she looked up at him.

"Just let me fight and I'll make you as much food as you want," she argued.

"Psst, Lily. You have to apply to his male teenager side," Sirius whispered. Lily frowned and James kicked Sirius under the table. He shot Sirius a warning glance, just in case the kick didn't cover it.

"You are not fighting, Lily. Especially not in the condition that you are now," James stated. He got up and began to pierce together his own meal.

If it hadn't occurred in this situation, Lily would have laughed at what he considered a meal. As it was she snorted on the inside. _Definitely not lady-like behavior _she decided. Then again, neither was the next thing she was considering.

"Then train me," she announced. "Seriously, for a fight. Give me a test, and when I can do it, let me fight. I feel helpless and useless sitting here all alone most days."

James sighed. "Beat Peter in a sword fight and throw daggers better than Remus. Than you fight me. If I decide you're ready, you can fight. But only then," he gave in. Lily cheered which caused James to frown.

Lily laughed at that and took pity on him. She stood up and took away the knife he was using to hack at the meat. "We can start training right after breakfast?"

James took one look at the knife in her hand, which he had stupidly taught her to use as a weapon, and nodded.

* * *

"The problem with the techniques we taught you to use before is that they were purely defensive. We never expected a lady to be required to know how to fight," Remus explained. Lily nodded, she had expected something of the sort. Remus stood up and demonstrated a practice move with his sword. "Practice just that for today," he directed. "You need to build up your strength and endurance."

"Okay," Lily agreed. She turned to face James who was sitting on his bed with a serious expression. She stared at him for a few seconds, waiting for him to react. "James?"

"Yeah," he didn't look up at her. Lily sat down on the bed opposite of him and just stared. Remus, Peter, and Sirius struggled to hold in their laughter as James remained oblivious. "Yeah?" he said again after a few moments.

Lily still didn't respond. James finally got irritated and looked up. Him falling off the bed with a startled look on his face was all the other three could take. They burst out laughing as James rubbed his head and struggled back onto his bed. Lily managed to keep a straight face as he glared at her. "What did you want?" He burst out.

"Just wondering what you were doing," Lily answered innocently. James growled and pounced on her. Lily squealed and protested as James tickled her. James silenced her with a kiss. Lily's squealing quieted as she kissed him back. The other three guys started booing until they stopped. James pulled himself up to a sitting position and placed an arm around Lily's waist.

"We should leave now," James said. "Catch them while they are still groggy." Remus sighed at the reminder that it was only six o'clock.

Sirius nodded but Lily shook her head. "Seven against five, I still don't like it."

"We'll be fine," Remus promised. Peter and Lily looked at him doubtfully. He shrugged. "The fact that those five are idiots and even you could probably defeat four of them should not at all influence your decision, Lily," Sirius added sarcastically.

Lily sighed and let go of James. "Go beat up guys and feel manly." She turned just to look at James. "Just be careful, for me, alright?"

James leaned down to look Lily in the eyes. "I promised, remember?" One hand drifted to her chin, stroking her lips. "I'll come back for you." He gave her a short, gentle kiss before turning to the other guys. "Where's Frank?" he asked, all business.

"He was going to meet us here in five minutes. He wanted to stop by his hide out to grab some additional weapons." Sirius replied.

James winced. "Are you sure he won't tell Dumbledore?" Peter looked scared at the comment. James decided that it was due to the fact that he would never cross Dumbledore.

"Oh, he will," Sirius answered carefully. "But since Alice told me that Dumbledore is currently on the other side of England, there is no way for Frank to reach him."

Remus and Peter burst out laughing. James chuckled softly at Alice's nerve.

"I think that Alice is more daring than all of us," Remus decided. Peter and Sirius nodded.

"Anyway, time to leave," Sirius said.

He stood up and Lily again watched the ritual of the four boys packing on as many weapons as they could carry. It was interesting to see the varying type of weapons that they carried. They all wore their swords, of course. However, Sirius was more inclined to carry daggers, including the long one he had slung over his back. James favored heavier things, more likely to do damage. He obviously favored his sword. Remus was the oddball. He had a collection of nontraditional items, including pointed metal, evidently meant to be thrown at someone. He also stored a couple of liquids that Lily couldn't figure out the use of. Peter had a couple daggers and his sword. He was a mix between Sirius and James.

James stopped to wave as he walked out the door.

"You promised," Lily reminded him. James nodded. He intended to keep his promise to her, no matter what the price was.

"So where are they at?" Frank asked cheerfully.

Remus gave him a dirty glare. If Alice was the daring one, than Frank was the foolhardy one that rushed off into battle. "His house."

"With all the bodyguards?" Frank just sounded more cheerful.

"Nope," Peter answered. "I heard that he's hanging out in a new location these days. He thinks that going incognito will help him hide." Peter smirked at the paradox.

"So where are they at?" Frank repeated. Peter named a side of town that was generally known for its low level citizens. Most of them stole or begged for a living.

James burst out laughing. "Gotta love the irony." He walked forward a few steps still laughing. Then he stopped abruptly and pivoted on his heel. He had a serious expression on his face. The other four looked surprised. "Look," he said. "We have to do this quick. Get in, take care of it, and get out. No risky moves."

Sirius clapped James's shoulder. "We promise, James. We'll play it safe. After all, Malfoy isn't the real target is he?"

James got lost in memory for a second. "No he isn't."

* * *

The second they approached the house, Sirius felt it. Something was wrong. No one had attacked them. No one had even yelled. In this neighborhood, someone should hate them. He stood still. James began to take a step forward, but was stopped by Sirius's hand on him chest. Sirius held a finger up to his lips, the universal gesture for silence. He pointed towards the side of house. He walked towards it and pulled up a window. He quietly fit himself through the window. The other three followed him, making just as little noise. As soon as Peter tried to come through though, the whole attempt at subterfuge was ruined. He hit his head on the sill, making the window come down on him. His scream pierced the air. Sirius and James turned around cursing. Remus and Frank were too busy looking at the rest of the room.

Fifty men burst into the room, coming from every door. Peter was still stuck in the window, closing off the only other exit. The four boys in the room backed up shoulder to shoulder.

"Traitor," Sirius spit.

Malfoy walked into the room laughing. It was a mocking laugh that rang through the room. He did the sarcastic, slow clap. The thing that is only done in movies and books. He looked first at James, then Sirius.

"Brilliant deduction," he mocked. "Otherwise, how could we know your plan? Here's the real question though: why didn't you figure it out sooner. Would I really live in a place like this?" He looked over the males. By now Peter had struggled inside the room. He stood slightly behind the others.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, "I thought the info was legit."

Malfoy gave Peter a scornful glare. "Use your brain, Petey-boy." He turned back to face James and Sirius again. "I'm disappointed in you two. This won't be as much fun now. Get them." He ordered his flunkies in a cold tone. He turned around and walked out of the room.

"He's mine," James shouted just before the mob attacked them. The only thing that could be heard after that was the clashing of metal and screams.

Sirius and Remus battled close together. Sirius had thrown the first couple of his daggers into the people rushing at them. They had gone down screaming, clutching various wounds. None of the gashes were lethal, but those six mean would most likely never walk again. He had then drawn the dagger on his back.

Remus's style complimented Sirius's. He had thrown his stars into the thick of the crowd. They had struck in random places. A few of the men attacked him like nothing had happened, but one or two hit the ground. Lacking the time to draw anything else, he took out his sword. He began parrying desperately, just trying to stay alive. One would block and distract one opponent, allowing the other to take him out. They had fought together countless times before, and it was obvious.

On the other side of the room, Frank and Peter were paling in comparison. Each of them had only thought to draw their swords, so they had the full number of men upon them. They were fighting franticly. As soon as they managed to give a flesh injury to one, another appeared. Peter had just as many minor injuries as Frank, but not by any spectacular fighting ability. Peter was parrying the blows well, but the blows weren't coming as strongly. Nothing life-threatening was coming at him. Frank however was stunning. He could have almost rivaled James. He was throwing off everyone who was coming at him, taking only mild wounds in the exchange. The sheer amount of men was overwhelming him though. It wasn't a matter of if he would make a mistake; it was a matter of when.

Back on Sirius and Remus's side, Sirius laughed. He cut another person on the leg and laughed even louder. Sirius spun closer to Remus.

"And Lily was worried that two extra men would take as down."

Remus couldn't take the time to appreciate the irony. After all, the last irony hadn't turned out that well either. He parried another blow and ducked a second. He pulled out a hidden dagger so he could attack with either hand. He set his mouth and concentrated on finding the window. He would get out. That was all that mattered.

James had the least amount of people on him. He didn't know why and he didn't care. He sprinted towards the door where Malfoy had disappeared. He had also adopted the two handed fighting style. He was using his sword in addition to the dagger that he had stored on his back. He ruthlessly cut anyone who came anywhere near him. He kicked one person in the face and left him bleeding. He would get out, he had promised Lily that, but he would get to Malfoy first. Revenge had taken over his mind, negating anything else. He would kill the person that had destroyed the people he loved. He got all the way outside before he finally tracked Lucius down.

"Malfoy!" he screamed.

Lucius stopped his walk and turned to face James. He didn't appear surprised.

"I wondered how long it would take you to reach me." He drew his sword and sliced it through the air. "Did you think about what I said?" He asked. "It was true. Oh, and by the way, I told the men not to attack you. You aren't as good as you think you are."  
James danced in and slashed. Malfoy blocked it.

"The question isn't how good I am," James managed to say between strokes. He took a reckless offense, slicing with the sword as often as the dagger. Malfoy deflected every one of them, but was unable to make an attack. "Just if I'm better than you." James faked right with his dagger.

The sword slid down and carved at Malfoy's leg. The dagger went for his throat. Malfoy had to deflect one and his choose the throat. His leg took a minor cut, hampering his ability to dodge.

Malfoy was infuriated. He had started out taunting the man that was at least twenty years younger than him. Now that James proved he was a threat, he was dead. Malfoy drew out a slim stiletto. He threw it at James, forcing him to dodge. He took that opportunity to take the offense. No one talked in the next few minutes. They took turns attacking and defending. It was a master display of swordsmanship. Finally Malfoy slashed James on the arm. He had second blood. Malfoy backed off. He gave James a chance to breathe. He had cut James deeply on his sword arm.

"I killed everyone who ever loved you," Malfoy said.

James became lightheaded as the blood rushed from him. He forgot that Malfoy presented only a danger to him at the time. He raised the dagger in his left hand.

"You will not kill Lily!" he screamed.

"Lily?" Malfoy asked. He was shocked. What connection did James have to his fiancé? He was still going to find her and marry her. He would not let his pride take a beating like that.

The second of distraction was all James needed. He threw his dagger at Malfoy's heart. At that second Sirius screamed. James turned and dashed as fast as he could back towards the window he had entered in. He figured that it would be the least crowded. He would save his friends. He wouldn't fail.

James ran too fast to see the dagger enter Malfoy. He was gone too soon to see Malfoy hit the ground. He was too concentrated on saving Sirius in time, because he would, to hear Malfoy scream.

The sad thing was that he didn't see Malfoy dodge. He didn't realize that the dagger only hit Malfoy in the side of the chest. He didn't know that Malfoy would lose a massive amount of blood, but still survive. The most important thing though, was that he didn't see Malfoy's smile. He had forgotten that Malfoy would recognize Lily's name. However, he knew that Malfoy has a massive ego, that Malfoy would get what he considered his. James ran.

**_A/N_**

_So sorry for the cliffie. Heres my apology, James does save Sirius. I feel evil leaving that big of a cliffie. _

_Anyway, thanks for all of the reviews. I loved them all:) Actually, I loved them so much, I wrote this chapter quickly. _

_Oh, I have a new Lily James story up. Its called Ruling You. Check it out if you have time._

_Props to _Rider Arya Svit-kona_my new beta reader._

MagicXheart


End file.
